Luis Pinedo, leader of the Citizen Consultation Movement, indicated that on Monday morning they will present a memorial before the Municipal Council of Panama so that an open town hall can be convened in the capital municipality.
“The call to the open council is precisely because they are not complying with the citizen consultation, the citizens decide the works of their community,” he said in Telemetro Reporta.
According to Pinedo, a thousand signatures had to be collected in order to reach this instance and to date they have exceeded them.
“They have no choice, the law is clear, they have to receive the memorial and proceed with the open council,” he said.
Pinedo indicated that an open council is a public meeting that must have the participation of the mayor of Panama and the 26 representatives of the townships so that the proposed issues can be addressed.
The leader stated that when presenting the memorial they suggest themes, but there must be an instance in which they allow citizens to also present their projects and participate.
However, he stressed that the projects underway cannot be discussed, he did so by referring to the possible construction of the new Seafood Market.
“The Seafood Market enters into an imposition of a citizen consultation that has 23 people for a project that costs more than 50 million dollars,” he emphasized.
Despite this, he said that another issue that can be addressed is the need for other peripheral markets to be implemented.
Pinedo, in a general way, communicated that in order to carry out works, it is necessary to respect citizen consultation.
“You cannot impose projects based on your pharaonic needs…if you have not talked with the citizens,” he concluded.
