President Juan Carlos Varela has allegedly taken his first steps in a long-overdue cabinet reshuffle. The President is reported to have contacted those ministers whose performance has been below par, warning them of a coming review.
Some ministers are already speaking out: Mario Etchelecu, Housing minister, publicly revealed in an interview to radio station RPC that he already had his “private assessment” with the President. Mr. Etchelecu gave no further details of the ministerial assessment that the President has promised to mark his first two years into his mandate. He did, however, defend his ministry’s execution of his flagship programme “Roofs of Hope”, which covers the construction of 4000 new housing units for the poor, as well as the renovation of the city of Colon. Both are flagship programmes of the Varela’s administration.
Earlier this week, from a current official visit in the United States, the President confirmed that, upon his return to Panamanian soil, he was planning on carrying out individual assessment of the following ministers: Housing minister Mario Etchelecu; Security minister Adolfo Aguilera; Education minister Marcela Paredes de Vásquez; Public works minister Ramón Arosemena; and the director general of the National Health Service (CSS), Estivenson Giron. Some ministers’ reaction didn’t take long to materialize. In a published interview, Security minister Adolfo Aguilera stated he regretted accepting his current position, recognizing that had been one of his major mistakes.
According to political analysts, the appointment of industry experts would greatly improve the chances of better performance at the ministries affected. That is unlikely to happen, though, says former deputy minister for Security Severino Mejia, since ministerial posts are generally filled by political allies.
