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Panama's Infrastructure Achilles Heel?
I have mentioned before that the Inter American Highway (in the U.S. we call it the Pan Am Highway) runs through the country from end to end AND is the only highway through the country. (Just click on the map and look at the red line on the map as it snakes through the country) This becomes a real problem during bad weather when rainstorms cause rivers to overflow and/or washes out bridges along the highway.
However, the highway becomes a tool for people who have a complaint and decide to protest by closing the highway. Right now there is an on-going protest concerning mining rights in the indigenous territories. The fact that the demonstration is a ‘phony’, according to news sources
makes it even worse. ‘Phony’ in the sense that the leaders of the protest turn out not to be leaders of the indigenous tribe, and it is reported they are being paid to demonstrate – paid by opponents of the legislation that have no ties or interest in the indigenous issues.
But the point is that protesting Indians have closed the road at the San Felix intersection and the economic losses stemming from the 21 consecutive hours that the Inter American Highway has been closed has been quantified at more than $1.5 million dollars.
The greatest losses have been recorded in both domestic and international loads, primarily those which are transported from the province of Chiriqui to the regions of Panama City and Colon. "The deterioration of vegetables, milk and a variety of poultry products has reflected substantial losses," said an official. As for the loads of cargo that come from Central America to Panama, the President of the Canatraca said these transactions have also been greatly affected, because such goods are moved only on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Don Winner (Panama Guide) Comments: The actual economic damages are way, way more than $1.5 million dollars. That's just what the transportation sector can put their finger on. It's much higher when you consider that this protest has basically cut the country in half, and no one can get from there to here and back again. Lost time, fuel, etc.
The Panama Beat
Politics Panama Style: The Vice President of the National Assembly, Marcos Gonzalez, apologized today for the rude gesture he made as he was being interviewed on TV after the riots in the Legislative Palace. The Vice President of the National Assembly raised the middle finger when he was booed by the audience during the interview. However, Gonzalez attributed his offensive gesture to the tension of the moment. Gonzalez also denied having sent people to beat others in the stands during the unrest in the National Assembly, as hinted in the Twitter accounts of National Assembly Deputy from the Panameñista party. Meanwhile, access to the Legislative Palace was restricted to avoid further clashes, according to the legislative authorities.
The New Mayor of Panama City: Don Winner (Panama Guide) Comments: When Roxana Mendez took over (as the new mayor of Panama City) she found there was about 1,000 people on the payroll of city hall who were either not needed, or who were receiving a paycheck and not actually going to work. She is now in the process of cleaning up the mess left behind by her predecessor Bosco Ricardo Vallarino. She's firing people left and right, all of them members of the Panameñista political party. And who should those people be mad at? The Varela brothers and Jose Blandon, who torched the alliance between the Panameñistas and the CD. So, I hear you've been fired. Want a job? Come over to the dark side...
Danger on The Country’s Roads
An 18 wheeler loaded with 700 sacks of cement turned over on the Northern Corridor exit that goes towards Arraijan. The truck driver, who declined to give his name, said he was coming from the Panama cement plant, located in Gatunciillo, Colon, when he lost his brakes. He said he "leaned" the truck against the Jersey barrier and the impact caused the truck to flip over, and his load was dumped on the roadway.
Red Devil Bus Turns Over: One person was killed and eleven were injured when a bus on the internal Salamanca round in the province of Colon flipped over. Early reports indicated the driver lost control of the bus and flipped while driving towards the city of Salamanca in Colon. The 9-1-1 ambulance service came to provide first aid to injured, who were later transferred to the medical clinic in San Juan. This accident occurred at 5:00 am this morning.
Larry Notes: The alarming thing about most of the serious accidents that get reported here in Panama is that most of them appear to be the result of unsafe vehicles operating on Panama’s highways. Every day you see vehicles on the road that have no business ever leaving a driveway - parts missing, lights that are not operational, etc.
Last night I watched a ‘junker’ pulling out of a parking place on the park that was a joke – a bad joke. The only external light on the car was one headlight that was so dim it looked like a candle. Out on the highway that car would not be recognizable as a car in the dark. The old gent driving was talking to the two police officers in the park as he pulled out.
I couldn’t help but think of my good friend in the – D.C. area who runs a very successful business replacing the cracked windshields on dump trucks on-site on construction sites. ‘On-site’ is the key point here. Truck drivers know that they probably would not get a mile on back on the streets before the police stopped them for that ‘dangerous’ cracked windshield. And the fine is hefty.
Restaurant & Hookah Lounge in Panama City
Welcome to the Fenicia Restaurant & Hookah Lounge in Panama City, a great choice for excellent food and atmosphere. They feature
a wide variety of dishes ranging from authentic Lebanese cuisine to some of the best sushi in town, as well as great American Angus steaks and much more.
Fenicia Restaurant & Hookah Lounge is distinguished as having the best hookahs in town with a menu of over 35 flavors that our customers enjoy every day. They also offer a diverse selection of national and international liqueurs, beers and wines.
Do you know where the hookah bar closest to your house is. No? Come on folks, let’s get with it.
Government Assistance That Works?
The Panamanian government sponsored a project, managed by the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA), which provided the seed money to grow a pineapple for export that is considered in some markets a luxury item. The pineapple, known in the market as honey pineapple for its sweetness and flavor, is not native to Panama.
The World Bank, through MIDA, contributed $221,000 to the project's inception and the Agricultal Producers Association (APAQ) also contributed $119 000, which paid for the acquisition of land, materials, labor, and other farming equipment.
The APAQ spokesman acknowledged that it was not easy for them to start the project because there were many doubts about whether the chosen sites met the criteria for planting the seeds, but the technicians established that (the lands) were excellent for obtaining quality fruit, as has been demonstrated in this first crop. Much sooner than forecast, the first crop has been harvested and being shipped to Belgium. So there are 52 people working in the fields and another 20 in the fruit packing plant. These are the families who own the co-op, do the work, run the business, and reap the benefits. They grow the fruit and sell it to European markets - with no or few middlemen.
Maybe the U.S. Government should try some programs like this – projects that make sense, provide jobs and make money. Note that there were no multi-billion dollar federal government loan guarantees and they are not betting any tax payer dollars on ‘scientific break-through’ technology, ‘hoping’ that it would work.
My Book – ‘Angels in Panama’
My book is still available at a reasonable price paperback from the publisher.
A great gift – available for instant download. The book is also now (finally!) available in e-book form as well from both Amazon (for the Kindle) and Barnes & Noble (the Nook).
The links below are for the various formats of my book. I have also included a link to my website where you can read excerpts of ‘Angels in Panama’ if you want.
Paperback from Publisher $9.95
Till Next Time. Pura Vida
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