After a broad consensus, the Labor, Health and Social Development Commission of the National Assembly, approved in the first debate the Bill 794 “Of the Beehive Plan”, an initiative presented by the Minister of the Ministry of Social Development (Mides), María Inés Castillo , to eradicate poverty and inequality in the 300 most vulnerable villages in the country.
The minister, who was accompanied by the deputy minister, Milagros Ramos Castro, explained that the National Strategy “Of the Hive Plan” constitutes a policy to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The intention is that “we all work together”: the technical board, local governments, civil society, universities and private companies, in the Panama of the Neighborhoods, the Rural-Agricultural Panama and the Panama of the Comarcas.
The head of the social portfolio emphasized that the law is in favor of people who live in conditions of multidimensional poverty or in a state of social vulnerability, through accelerated, articulated and integrated investment in the different service offers of the Beehive Clock, within prioritized territories, with the aim of leaving no one behind.
These areas include: early childhood, nutrition, clean water and basic sanitation, health, education, housing, activities that generate income and entrepreneurship, security, sports and culture, environmental conservation, rural electrification and lighting and road infrastructure.
The Hive Plan includes existing or future programs and projects, together with multisectoral offers from the Central Government and Local Governments, elevating the Executive Decree of the Hive Plan to the law of the republic.
This bill includes the territories subject to Colmena intervention, the lines of action, the strategic framework, governance networks, financing, compliance, follow-up and monitoring.
Castillo assured that they are seeking to have a regulatory framework to close the inequality gaps in the 300 most vulnerable districts of Panama.
While the deputies members of the Commission agreed that the bill is a scientific tool that will lay the foundations for applying public policies in favor of the most vulnerable communities in the country through the articulation and coordination of local governments with the state.
They also presented important contributions and suggestions that will be analyzed for later incorporation in order to strengthen the proposal that will benefit 777 thousand Panamanians who have been left behind in the social and economic development of the country.
In turn, the president of the Commission, deputy Daniel Ramos Tuñón, described the Law as an opportunity to attack poverty in the poorest regions of the country, with medium and long-term programs that allow the continuity of work beyond election periods.
