According to the count of the general secretary, Carlos Alvarado, 60 deputies voted in favor. One voted against and another abstained.
The plenary session of the National Assembly gave approval to Antonio Tercero González González as director of Institute of National Aqueducts and Sewers (Idaan). It was ratified during the night of this Monday, April 27.
The Legislature made the decision after long and passionate speeches by several deputies, who spoke about the water crisis. The majority agreed that the shortage and poor distribution of the liquid not only represent an infrastructure problem, but a direct threat to the public health of the communities and the development of the country.
The first to speak to refer to the profile of Tercero González González was Ernesto Cedenofrom the Another Path Movement. Among other things, he warned that he does not have the skills for the position and even suggested that he could fit better as account managera position that will be vacant once Jaime Barroso takes over as magistrate of the Electoral Court starting next year.
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Tercero González González, unlike other former directors of the state entity responsible for managing, operating and maintaining drinking water systems in Panama, who have been engineers, He is a lawyer. This fact generated a debate about whether the legal profile is sufficient to lead an institution of an eminently technical nature, where decisions about infrastructure and distribution of water resources require specialized knowledge in engineering.
‘The water business’
After Cedeño spoke Benicio Robinsonof the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). His speech revolved around the structural limitations of Idaan, emphasizing the lack of resources and operational capacity that, in his opinion, the institution is dragging down.
“It can be MacGyver, but if they don’t give it the resources, it won’t do anything (…),” he said.
He also set his sights on the water “business.” “How long are we going to give business to the tankers?” he asked.
Similar speech was given by his co-partisan Raphael Buchanan. It was a fiery dissertation, full of accusations and complaints against the authorities who, for years, allowed the deterioration of the drinking water service in the country. He also spoke of “negotiating with water” and asked for the elimination of tanker trucks and for water to be brought to the people.
He asked his caucus for a favorable vote for the person designated for the Presidency of the Republic.
Roberto Zunigafrom the Vamos bench, took the floor and aimed at the same target: the chronic mismanagement of water resources in Panama.
He also spoke about the politicization of Idaan. “It has to be managed with a vision of the State.”
And so the list of deputies to take the microphone was expanding. At 10:20 pm the Legislature endorsed the ratification.
According to the count of the general secretary, Carlos Alvarado, 60 deputies voted in favor. One voted against and another abstained.
In the Credentials Commission
Earlier, the Credentials Commission, chaired by the official representative Dana Castanedahad recommended to the plenary session that it be ratified.
In that forum, the new head of Idaan stated that he will face multiple challenges at the head of the institution and warned that the solutions will not be immediate or the product of a “magic wand.”
