Conep Supports The Holding Of Panama's Carnival After The Mayor's Call

(MENAFN- Newsroom Panama) The city's mayor, Mayer Mizrachi, said that such activities should not 'depend' on public funds.
Following the announcement by the Panama tourism Authority (ATP) to suspend the Panama City Carnival due to lack of funding, both the private sector and the Mayor's Office have come out to say that they are willing to continue with the activity.
This week, ATP director Gloria De León said that holding this event at this time“would not be the most responsible thing to do,” given that it requires an investment of more than $3 million.
Mayor Mayer Mizrachi acknowledged that the decision of the Executive to suspend the activity due to lack of funds was“difficult, but necessary.”“I will always appreciate the good use of public funds,” he said.

A few weeks before the city carnivals, Mizrachi expressed his interest in working in a coordinated manner so that the activity can continue with the support of the private sector.“The question is whether in 45 days the private companies can coordinate among themselves to rescue an activity, even if it is austere, in the capital city,” he analyzed.
These wishes were supported by the president of the National Council of Private Enterprise (CoNEP), Gabriel Diez.“If it is within the capacity of the Municipality of Panama to organize this with the support of private enterprise, without the use of public resources, for the management of a festive activity, let it be done,” he stressed.
The businessman gave the example of the Christmas parade.

“The mayor had the vision of holding a Christmas parade and it was done with private funds, but with the technical, cleaning and security support of the Mayor's Office,” he said. Regarding the time left to be able to carry this out, Diez said that the mayor is“preparing the area so that a private company can enter and participate. Now, we have to talk about the costs, the regulations and the details. It can be done but, we are late. This could have been said a long time ago,” he said. He added that the important thing is that these types of events are no longer paid for with state funds.“This is an opportune moment for this carnival to be managed as all the carnivals in the country are managed. Each city, each town, has a carnival board supported by the corresponding municipality and the central government is limited to the issue of security,” he said.

'”We must take advantage of this crossroads so that the central government disassociates itself [from this] and that the ATP dedicates itself to promoting the country as a Carnival destination, because it is not only the city's responsibility, but that of the Republic of Panama,” he stressed.
“The government is being responsible when prioritizing expenses. Minister Felipe Chapman said that they had to prioritize expenses. Now, we have to be consistent with that, it's not that this expense is not incurred, but that other expenses are incurred that are equally dispensable,” he added.
This point of view is also shared by Mizrachi, who said that“Panamanian culture should not depend on the State.”“In Las Tablas, the carnivals are paid for by private companies and sponsors; it is just a matter of reaching an agreement.”
The last edition of the city's Carnival had an investment of $1.6 million and achieved an economic return of more than $18 million, during the four days it lasted, according to a report by the ATP.

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