In the session of this Tuesday, February 15, the Municipal Council of Panama approved calling the tender for the construction of the new Seafood Market, which will be located in Calidonia.
The proposal was not on the agenda and was included at the beginning of the session, along with other projects. In addition, the majority of the representatives agreed to approve the projects en bloc. The approval of authorizing the mayoral administration to call the tender was given with a vote of 24 votes in favor and 2 against.
Representatives Guillermo “Willie” Bermúdez, from Don Bosco, and Ricardo Domínguez, from Bella Vista, voted against.
“It was presented as a mere inclusion. In the end it was voted en bloc. Nothing could even be exposed,” said Bermúdez after the session, adding that they have not had access to the project document.
“Usually these projects are presented two weeks before and they are sent to the councilors so that they can see the municipal agreements that are going to be presented,” he said.
The new market project, which is an initiative of the mayor of Panama City, José Luis Fábgrea, will cost approximately between $40 million and $50 million.
The construction of this project has generated controversy after it became known that the citizen consultation to continue with the initiative was held on November 11, 2022 with 22 residents of the Calidonia corregimiento.
Bermúdez said that he did not understand how this work was going on, after learning of the reduction in the investment budget for the Municipality of Panama, of about $30 million, from the decentralization funds.
He argued that with this it is necessary to make a reconfiguration of the budget of the Municipality of Panama.
