Bill 323.

Summary.

The bill establishes a transparency and communications framework for the dividends paid annually by the Panama Canal Authority (Autoridad del Canal de Panamá) to the National Treasury (Tesoro Nacional). It defines those dividends as funds generated by the Authority and transferred after expenses and investments have been deducted. It also defines infrastructure, public safety, social inclusion, transparency, auditing, publicity and national history, terms used to describe the proposed information and activities in Panama (Panamá).

The Ministry for Canal Affairs (Ministerio para los Asuntos del Canal), the Panama Canal Authority and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas) would develop and maintain a website called “El Canal Aporta.” Access would be free and continuous. The site would publish projects financed partly or entirely with Panama Canal (Canal de Panamá) dividends, detailed financial reports, the progress and stages of each work with its estimated completion date, and related contracts, tenders and expenditures. Information would be updated monthly. The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (Contraloría General de la República) would continually audit the published information and the management of dividends, at least una (l) vez al año, and report its findings annually to the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional). The responsible ministries would include social and economic impact indicators for each project. Failure to meet the platform’s transparency and updating duties would be subject to the sanctions and personal liability provisions of Law 6 of January 22, 2002 (ley 6 del 22 de enero de 2002), or the public administration transparency law in force when the breach occurs.

Every work financed partly or entirely with Panama Canal dividends would bear a visible plaque showing the Panama Canal Authority’s logo, the executing institution’s identification, a statement about its funding, the amount invested and the year of execution. The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry for Canal Affairs would allocate part of their annual budgets to communicating progress and completed works through digital and traditional media. The former would present the works and their impact annually to the National Assembly, assisted by the Minister for Canal Affairs (Ministro para Asuntos del Canal); assembly members could ask questions and request adjustments. Inaugurations would involve the beneficiary community, which would receive at least two weeks’ prior notice. Communications campaigns would include material for schoolchildren and young people, coordinated with the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación).

Starting in the school year following promulgation, the Ministry of Education would ensure that public and private secondary schools cover the struggle for sovereignty, recovery of the Canal, and its economic and social impact in History classes. It would also develop teaching materials with national historians and experts and seek to organize school fairs and conferences. The Executive Branch would issue implementing regulations within 90 days of promulgation; breaches would be sanctioned under existing legislation, and the law would take effect three (3) months after its promulgation in the Official Gazette. The proposal concerns the named public institutions and the public works, procurement, communications and education sectors.