Commission against Corruption is exclusionary says the Great National Alliance for Panama

The Great National Alliance for Panama (GANA Panama) sees the Executive Branch’s decision to create a new commission to deal with corruption as inappropriate and exclusionary.

GANA Panama assures that this Commission excludes the many voices and organizations in the country and that attempting to confront the problem of corruption with only limited representation is considered an error.

“Ending corruption is a national issue and cannot be exclusive. GANA Panama calls for a serious and effective confrontation with corruption, both public and private,” they assured.

In addition, they consider it opportune to create a system that has the tools that really prevent corruption, such as an effective culture of transparency in the Public Administration based on Law 6 of 2002 (Law of Transparency and Access to Information), technical and depoliticized officials , as well as effective justice that combats impunity.

They added that it is urgent to reform the regulatory framework in the fight against corruption. “The recent approval of the Law on Conflicts of Interest should be followed by the approval of other laws such as the Protection of whistleblowers, reforms to the Penal Code for crimes against the Public Administration (increase penalties and prescription), Anti-Bribery Law for the sector private, update to the Law of Court of Accounts and National Authority for Transparency and Access to Information (ANTAI), among others.In addition, GANA Panama is concerned that the powers of this commission announced by the Executive are, for the most part, faculties that all citizens already have, as is the case of bringing corruption cases to justice”.