Aggressive Austerity Plan in El SalvadorFriday, June 12, 2009 Mauricio Funes ordered rationing measures regarding public expenses in the areas of publicity, purchasing of vehicles, phone systems, etc. Along with these measures is the creation of a commission for the investigation of any anomalies in the different accounts receivable portfolios of the public system. El Salvador Earmarks $770 million for Public Investment in 2012Friday, March 9, 2012 The government aims to implement 70% of the $1.1 billion budgeted for public investment. The Government has budgeted $1.1 billion for public investment this year and hopes to implement at least 70% of that amount, said Guillermo Lopez Suarez, Special Coordinator for the monitoring and implementation of public investment and Minister of Agriculture. Panama: $9 Billion for InvestmentsThursday, November 1, 2018 The 2019 budget approved by the National Assembly includes almost $9 billion for investments and $2.943 million for debt service. Panamanian authorities informed that the approved project includes an adjustment of 350 million balboas additional to the budget initially budgeted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). El Salvador: 40-year Contracts for Public-Private PartnershipThursday, May 12, 2011 The bill submitted by the Government proposes a term not exceeding 40 years, including extensions, for public-private contracts. The government is seeking to encourage private participation in infrastructure with the new law on Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). Panama: Expenditure on State Payroll Up 18%Tuesday, January 16, 2018 The total amount disbursed by the government in payment of salaries up until October 2017 was $321 million, 18% more than in the same month in 2016. According to a report by the Comptroller General of the Republic, a total of 233,111 posts were registered in October of last year, which are divided into 209,173 permanent and 23,938 contingent workers. By sector, 150,414 corresponded to the Central Government and 82,697 to the Decentralized Sector. El Salvador: Law for Public-Private PartnershipsTuesday, January 11, 2011 Government will send to Congress a draft of a Law regulating Public Private Partnerships. The law would regulate state participation in these associations, to establish parameters for private enterprises and the regulations regarding tendering and contracting procedures. New Law for Public-Private PartnershipsTuesday, August 20, 2019 The National Assembly of Panama approved in first debate the bill establishing the Public-Private Partnership Regime. On August 19, the Economy and Finance Commission approved in the first debate the project that seeks to regulate the contracts, generally long term, between the public and private sectors for the design, construction, repair, expansion, financing, operation, maintenance, administration and/or supply of projects and services such as roads, energy, telecommunications, public transportation, ports and water treatment, among others. Increase in State PayrollFriday, May 11, 2018 The Panamanian State spends $321 million a month on salaries paid to public officials, well above the $209 million spent on this expense four years ago. Monthly expenditure on public salaries has increased, especially during the Varela administration, as according to figures of the Ministry of Economy and Finance from March 2018, every month $113 million more is paid than in 2014. Panama: Public-Private Partnership LawTuesday, August 17, 2010 The government bill to regulate PPPs is now being reviewed by several sectors. The law would regulate the role of the state in these associations, determine the involvement of private companies and define the contract and tender process. State Comercial Enterprises: To Privatize or Not To Privatize?Tuesday, May 14, 2013 Why is it that in general public enterprises register losses while private ones normally earn profits? An analysis of the issue by Rogelio Arce Barrantes in Prensalibre.cr summarizes the situation with the words of the popular [Spanish] saying "If its free, let's party." Guatemala Approves Budget of $8.52 billionWednesday, October 24, 2012 The General Budget for Revenues and Expenditures for fiscal year 2013 has been approved by the Congress of Guatemala through an express approval. The law provides for tax revenues of $6.42 billion, placement of treasury bonds for $689 million, external borrowing of $932 million and $463 million in non-tax revenues and grants. Costa Rica: No Urgency in Removing Privileges From State OfficialsMonday, December 5, 2016 The private sector has denounced the government for not convening in the Legislative Assembly bills related to public employment that would eliminate some of the privileges given to public servants. From a statement issued by the UCCAEP: Advantages of Being a Productive State OfficialFriday, October 26, 2012 In the Costa Rican National Development Corporation, there are 130 expendable personnel whose salaries are greater than $2,300 a month. An article in Nacion.com quotes Wlliam Barrantes, the chief executive of the National Production Council (CNP), who manages the National Liquor Factory (Fanal), and runs the Institutional Supply Program (IAP), which sells food to ministries such as Justice (prisons), Security (police) and the Social Security Department (hospitals). The Nail on the Head: Public Sector SalariesThursday, September 18, 2014 It has been pointed out that the solution to the financial debacle of the State of Costa Rica unavoidably involves rethinking the system of incentives and salaries of public officials. Crhoy.com reports that "... economists and former ministers have said it's good that a containment of public expenditure be made, but if the current government and MPs really want to solve the budget deficit they must not stick only to the administrative unti but must also delve into the issue of public sector salaries." Meritocracy: Absent in Latin AmericaWednesday, April 29, 2015 "Civil service careers are influenced by arbitrariness, politicization, patronage, the search for private profit and patronage criteria and with posts being filling up with public servants who do not have the sufficient merits to perform their functions." From a statement issued by the Salvadoran Foundation for Development (FUSADES), regarding the report The Civil Service and Patronage: |
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