The residents of San Francisco appeal to citizen participation as an instrument to make their voice heard in the public consultations convened by the Municipality of Panama, to address issues such as projects with funds for decentralization or changes in land use.
Teyra Ehlers, who resides in this district, stated that since before the pandemic, a group of residents began to organize to promote the development of Local Development Boards, and that despite the fact that this is indicated by the Decentralization Law, they did not had been activated, to date only three meetings remain to be chosen, among them, San Francisco Centro.
He added that they are waiting for the representative of San Francisco, Carlos Pérez Herrera, to formally call the registration and election process.
“We have a list for the board of directors to participate in this election process. What we seek is to have that space so that as citizens and part of civil society we have participation in decision-making and discussions that have to do with our township and community, ”he explained.
Local boards are a tool provided by the Decentralization Law to directly influence decision-making, planning, and diagnosis or solution of problems in the district.
In San Francisco, the San Sebastián Local Development Board has already been chosen and it is expected to do the same with Boca La Caja soon. In other sectors, such as Carrasquilla, Villa Lilla and Punta Pacifica, they are in the stage of raising the register, that is, of registering people over 18 years of age, so that they can join a payroll or vote.
