Closing a mine is a very big responsibility and all Panamanians must share responsibility for the consequences of leaving the mining project open or closing it, he said. Minister of the Environment, Milciades Concepción.
In this way, Concepción addressed the invitation to binding consultation with citizens made by him President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo, on Sunday evening, to calm the wave of protests that the sanction had triggered Law 406.
After eight days of shutdowns, protests, paralysis of economic activity and suspension of classes in the official sector, the president proposed that Panamanians go to the polls on December 17 to approve or reject the repeal of Law 406.
“Power comes from the people. Just as it is such a sensitive issue and it paralyzes the country, the people must decide because we cannot take that responsibility,” Concepción said of the repeal of Law 406, which was approved within three days by the plenary session of the National Assembly October 20 and sanctioned by the President of the Republic.
“That decision must be made by the Panamanian people so that we are all responsible for the effects that the decision to repeal Law 406 will have,” Concepción insisted.
“It is a big responsibility to decide to stop an investment of more than 9000 million dollars that will affect more than 40 thousand Panamanians, which will collapse the economic system, we will have multimillion lawsuits,” Concepción warned in Telemetro Reporta.
“Why, when the construction of the mine started in 2012 until 2019, seven years of construction and no one did anything. Why didn’t we protest at the time when they started clearing the forest and started building the mine?” asked the head of the atmosphere.
However, the executive’s decision confirms a demand that labor unions and other groups opposed to mining activities in Panama have been making for several months. Single trade union of construction and related workers (Suntracs) He has already proposed a referendum as a way out of the debate.
Concepción pointed out that mining activity is legal in Panama under the Mining Law of 1963. “The activity is not illegal, maybe the bad thing was the terms that were put into that 1997 contract, which did not have favorable terms for the country. With Contract Law 406 better conditions were granted for the country from a financial, economic, labor, social and environmental point of view,” defended Concepción.
It also ensures that 33 environmental studies have been ‘well-approved’ by three previous governments, in accordance with environmental standards and that the company is in compliance with a mitigation and compensation plan.
Minera Panamá is working and has already deforested more than 5 thousand hectares, they have a basin of more than 2100 hectares, they have a huge pit that costs millions, 10 thousand hectares that will not be reforested.
The closure of the mine has consequences catastrophic environmental problems for the further mitigation and compensation of which millions of dollars must be invested, the head of the environment admitted.
Referendum?
“Avoiding political responsibility has become the norm. The president expressed a strong defense of contract law,” he picked up former ombudsman, Juan Antonio Tejada.
“Have it Of course, in any scenario, with that contract the state has to pay. “A referendum or public consultation makes us complicit in any payment,” said lawyer Roberto Ruiz Díaz.
For a lawyer, Supreme Court of Justice The process must be accelerated and by the end of the month we will have a verdict, which brings us back to the situation before Law 406, where there was a company that illegally exploited the activity.
“Going to arbitration with a verdict in hand is not the same as illegally terminating the contract”Ruiz Díaz said.
Dialogue
He Government of Laurentino Cortiz This Monday, they will seek rapprochement with various unions to reach agreements on the lifting of protest measures.
Concepción warned of the consequences of traffic jams and road closures. “This is going to be chaos,” he said.
Avoiding political responsibility has become the norm. The President expressed a firm defense of contractual law. See the decision on the referendum bill pic.twitter.com/3eDXYCSVL4— Juan Antonio Tejada Espino (@JAntonioTejada) October 30, 2023
Source: Panama America
I am Jason Root, author with 24 Instant News. I specialize in the Economy section, and have been writing for this sector for the past three years. My work focuses on the latest economic developments around the world and how these developments impact businesses and people’s lives. I also write about current trends in economics, business strategies and investments.
