politics
Navarro defends summit spending
The chancellor said that detailing expenses for the meeting is unfair to the nation’s first lady.
The event, which continues through Friday, is costing an average of $140,000 per day.
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| Vivian Torrijos1062766 |
Vice President and Chancellor Samuel Lewis Navarro reacted angrily yesterday to a report in La Prensa that detailed the $700,000 being spent on a meeting in Panama for the first ladies from five Central American countries.
Navrros said that the story was printed for political reasons and to “harm” the first lady, Vivian Fernández de Torrijos.
Navarro also expressed indignation over an editorial in La Prensa that compared the lavish event with a summit organized by former President Mireya Moscoso in 2000, for which the government purchased 13 Cadillacs.
While no cars were purchased for the current first lady's meeting, which is supposed to focus on the drastic underfunding of special education programs in the region, very few other expenses were spared. The meeting will cost taxpayers an estimated $140,000, and spending includes thousands of dollars on invitations and nametags, as well as a $15,000 bill for designer purses for the attendees.
La Prensa contacted an events organizer in Panama about the costs of the conference, which to that person seemed extravagant, especially the $4,800 being spent on floral arrangements. La Prensa tried to contact Vivian Fernández de Torrijos, but her office said that she would not comment.
Critics have pointed out that many of the contracts for the services being provided at the conference were not tendered, an apparent violation of the country’s transparency regulations. Awarding contracts directly to vendors calls into question whether taxpayers are getting value for money.
The conference began Monday and wraps up Friday. Attending are the first ladies of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and Panama, as well as the prime minister from the Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua's minister of education and a representative from the Dominican Republic.
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