government

Integrity index adopted

Prosecutor Ana Matilde Gómez agreed yesterday to adopt and implement a system for measuring administrative activities in the Ministerio Público called the Integrity Index for Public Institutions. The program is sponsored by the United Nations Fund for Democracy and was proposed by the Fundación para el Desarrollo de la Libertad Ciudadana, which is chaired by Angelica Maytín Justiniani. After signing an agreement of cooperation, prosecutor Gomez said that she did so with the conviction that all public officials are accountable for their actions to the community and before the law. In this regard, she stressed that everything that could be done to measure and ensure transparency in government is welcome.

From Maytín Justiniani´s point of view, although the civil service has a code of ethics, the truth is that some people do not observe it, nor is anyone actually measuring the conduct of public officials.So far, she said, only the Municipio de Panamá has agreed to participate in the program. Participation of the Ejecutivo is expected soon. "We would like the Asamblea Nacional, the institution most questioned, to also join us in the Integrity Index, but the president still has not responded," she observed. Recent local polls revealed that most Panamanians mistrust state officials, and international observers have called for greater transparency and a reduction of corruption in Panama's governing bodies.