I attended one of our great community events at the Tuesday meeting in our community center and it was one of the best meetings I have attended.  Our mayor was here and spoke of the issues our growing community is faced with and how they are being addressed.  Our police chief was there to introduce himself and the Minister of Security of Panama also visited for a formal presentation.

Water Systems – The government has committed to a program in excess of $20 Million for improvements to our local water systems and the study has been completed and the plans are in place for works to commence soon.  This is huge as the infrastructure has not kept up with the growth here in Boquete.

Security – This is a subject few people in the travel or real estate business talk about but is perhaps the number one issue we face as a small town in a developing country.   Crime and the prevention of it as opposed to just the reporting of it.  Our new police chief comes with over 11 years of intelligence work in Panama City and has revamped our entire police force.  The government recently presented our community with a dozen new vehicles and promised a greater police presence which is evident throughout our community.  We have neighborhood watch groups and direct contact with our officers and the chief as well. Our Minister of Security of Panama presented statistical evidence that his program of re-socialization of gang members vs just repression has demonstrated a reduction in the overall crime rate in the country. Specifically, it has enabled him to take 4,000 gang members off of the street and put them in work programs.     Now, any contractor who want a government contract must provide for 10% of it’s work force to be a part of this program.  This has been successful and at a much lower cost than building more prisons and hiring more government workers.

While we still have security issues to solve, our community continues to come together to tackle them and it is great to be a part of the solution here in Boquete.  Our President was also here for a couple of days showing his commitment to our town and our province which few presidents before him have done.