CATALINA BOTERO, a former member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, has proposed that Panama implement a "transparency pact" to help the fight against corruption.

She suggested that civic societies should take advantage of the fact that the new director of the National Authority of Transparency and Access to Information, is Angélica Maytí¬n, an activist for transparency.
Botero, who left her post in October, said the pact must be an alliance between civic societies and government officials interested in changing the face of the country.
The official, who was involved in cases involving abuses against the press which occurred during the presidency of Ricardo Martinelli, spoke on Tuesday nigh, November 18,t at a civic gathering organized by the Panamanian Institute of Civic Studies and the Panamanian Association of Business Executives.
The activity brought together professionals from different branches of government and civic activists, who discussed the importance of access to public information, and said the fight for transparency and information is not just the role of the media.
She gave as an example the cases of Chile, Uruguay, Brazil and countries where citizens have taken advantage of the tools that have given them access to information and laws that allow them to assert their basic rights.
Although she said that the law on transparency that was passed in 2002 is good, improvements need to be made.