THE SITUATION of the lack of drinking water in the last week in the capital city has served as a reminder of how weak the Idaan [Water and Sewer Authority] is. This institution has been punished by improvisation, politicking and clientelism. Panamanians do not have the water that we deserve, if not the one we pay. For more than 30 years the water tariff has stagnated, the infrastructure of the pipes presents a deplorable state and the entity has lost its ability to solve problems with its own resources.

The real price of this crisis is not only the water lost and how much it has cost to repair the broken pipes. It also includes the damage caused to those businesses that could not serve their clientele, hospitals and clinics that limited their attention and the infinity of annoyances faced by families, businesses and all those who depend on drinking water for their daily tasks. The Idaan does not deserve the bad luck it has, but neither can it be a saddlebag full of damages, and of omissions that take away healthy water from a thirsty country. We cannot tolerate more mistakes and clumsiness. This is simply unacceptable …La Prensa, Mar.1