Business & Economy Briefs
Capital's Carnival officially on
After declarations from IPAT that Panama City wouldn't have an
official Carnival this year, on January 15 President Moscoso signed
a decree providing that the city would celebrate after all. La
Cresta representante Julio Crespo has been put in charge of the
official Carnival committee, which has a little more than a month
to organize the events.
Utility rate protests continue
Telephone and electricity rate increases that took effect January
1 are still generating spirited protests, and have Arnulfista
and PRD politicians blaming one another. Mireya says that the
Pérez Balladares signed a contract which binds the government
to accept the rate hikes, while PRD legislators accuse Mireya
and the public utility regulators that she has chosen of failing
to used their powers to protect the public interest. Meanwhile,
every Thursday there are peaceful protests at the Cable & Wireless
offices on Via España, masked student militants are going around
destroying pay phones and other company property and there are
sporadic street blockages around the country.
Government in the dark?
The Elektra Noreste power company is threatening to pull the plug
on government buildings it serves, because Panama is behind on
its bills. Government and Justice Minister Winston Spadafora has
filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that its threat
endangers national security, but the utility says that it intends
to treat the government like any other customer.
Lights out at Santo Tomas
Health Minister José Terán says that a series of recent power
surges and outages has damaged some expensive equipment at Santo
Tomas Hospital, and on January 14 left the emergency room in the
dark for seven hours, forcing a number of transfers to other hospitals.
The Health Ministry insists that Santo Tomas wasn't in arrears
and Terán is threatening to sue the Union Fenosa electric utility
for damages.
Amador Guerrero cutbacks
The government has temporarily stopped outpatient services and
closed the orthopedics section at Colon's Amador Guerrero Hospital,
due to malfunctioning air conditioning and other problems with
the building. No schedule for repairs has been announced.
Swiss Bank closing its doors
Swiss Bank, the Panamanian branch of the Union of Swiss Banks
of Zurich, is liquidating after doing business here for some 30
years. The decision to shut down was made by the parent company
in Switzerland, based on plans for a company-wide downsizing and
in light of Panama's slow economy.
Real estate sales way down
The Real Estate Association of Panama (ACOBIR) says that sales
and rentals went down about 50 percent in 2000 and 2001. Part
of the problem is that ARI broke its promises of a "garden community"
to those who paid top dollar for houses at Albrook, and home buyers
are now wary of anything that the authority says with respect
to properties at Clayton and elsewhere. Another part of the problem
is a general economic slowdown, sparked in part by the withdrawal
of US military forces that used to pay inflated rents for service
members' off-base homes and apartments. Still, construction of
upscale apartments and commercial development continues, a phenomenon
often alleged to be linked to money laundering.
Marc Harris comeback?
The Harris Organisation, a group of companies headed by ex-American
financier Marc Harris, has suffered a number of setbacks over
the past two years, including a loss in a Florida libel suit against
an offshore investment newsletter that called them a pyramid scheme,
a slew of lawsuits and criminal charges brought by disgruntled
clients, a declaration by the National Securities Commission that
some of its component companies were operating without required
licenses (which has been stayed by the Supreme Court pending further
litigation), and the arrests of several people connected to the
group in joint US-Panamanian operations. Now, however, The Harris
Organisation has been getting uncritical good publicity in a series
of articles in El Panama America, and on the Internet the group's
Argentine operation has been given a higher profile. Though the
wife of Harris's sales director had been in charge of last year's
Easter egg hunt at the US ambassador's residence before her husband's
arrest by the FBI, the great majority of Panama's American community
now shuns Marc Harris and his associates.
SouthCom surplus seized
In a raid on Marine Industrial Services Inc., located near the
Port of Balboa, police and prosecutors seized heavy construction
equipment and barges that were left here by the US Southern Command
when they departed. The government claims that the assets, valued
at some $3.6 million, were abandoned by the US forces and now
belong to Panama. Some of the equipment was donated to the Corazon
a Corazon charity group, which intended to use it to create a
vocational school in Honduras. However, a US Army court of inquiry
found that Corazon a Corazon improperly acquired the property
and declare the transfer void. There is a pending Panamanian court
case over ownership of the property and there is likely to be
more litigation over two years' worth of storage charges.
Shrimp moratorium
The Maritime Authority of Panama has announced that this year's
off-season for shrimp will last from February 11 through April
11. All saltwater shrimping will be banned during these 70 days,
as will the sale of illegally caught shrimp. The moratorium does
not affect shrimp raised in ponds or tanks, or river shrimp.
Stream poisoned in Arraijan
Some 40 domestic animals and many fish died on January 18 after
drinking from the Tiza River, a stream that runs through the former
Empire Range and the Arraijan neighborhood of Nuevo Emperador.
The water had a greasy white film on top, whose origin remains
obscure. The National Environmental Authority is investigating.
Mireya inaugurates small business school
On January 15 President Moscoso inaugurated the Escuela de Empresas
de Colon, an institution dedicated to teaching people how to create
and run their own small businesses. The president pointed out
that tourists are coming to Colon again, and said that this creates
opportunities for small as well as big enterprises.
Japanese to study Casco Viejo's wooden buildings
As the project to renovate the Casco Viejo's old buildings continues,
the fate of many of the neighborhood's most vulnerable structures,
and of their residents, may be decided by a trio of Japanese architects.
The experts, who are here under the aegis of the Japan International
Cooperation Agency, will examine wooden buildings and report on
whether they are worth saving, and if so, how the restoration
work should be done. Casco Viejo is a UNESCO world historical
heritage site.
Grain terminal coming?
The nation's biggest users of animal feed have formed a consortium
and are looking to build Panama's first grain terminal. That would
make this country a regional hub for grain distribution, and also
cut prices that the nation's poultry and pork producers must pay
for imported animal feed. The Panama Grain Terminal consortium,
which includes the Grupo Melo, Athanasiades, Toledano, Industria
de Trigo, Avicola Arce and several agricultural credit unions,
has approached Panama Ports to explore the possibility that the
terminal might be part of an expansion of either the Balboa or
the Cristobal port.
Canal doesn't take telexes anymore
Beginning January 1 the Panama Canal Authority dispensed with
a venerable old technology, the telex. As of that date the canal
will accept messages about ships' estimated times of arrival by
email, telephone or fax, but not by the obsolete telex machines.
Contract questioned
Andrés "Domplín" Vega, a PRD legislator and radio station owner,
is receiving some criticism over a $4,000 publicity contract between
his company and the IDAAN water and sewer utility. It seems that
Domplín signed the eight-month, $500-per-month deal last September,
but the Panamanian constitution prohibits elected officials from
contracting with the government. The legislator argues that the
contract for 30-second spots advising people to save water was
not with him, but with a corporation, and thus not a violation
of the law.
Lawsuit in bridge design contract
One of the losing bidders in the contest to build a second bridge
over the Pacific end of the canal is suing to have the process
set aside. FIGG Engineering Group, Inc. complains that the T.
Y. Lin International - Louis Berger Group consortium won the contest
through a last-minute change in the bridge's specifications that
effectively prevented FIGG from competing. Construction of the
bridge, which will cross from near Pedro Miguel to the former
Empire Range, is set to begin in July.
