Paraguay
The Senate will debate requests to the BCP, the possible impeachment of Claudia Centurión and a pay raise for health agents
The Upper House has on its agenda an information request on IPS loans, the summons of the public works minister and a bill to improve salaries for community agents. ABC Color reported that several of those items come with prior delays and still uncertain support.
The Senate will analyze an information request addressed to the Central Bank of Paraguay and the Superintendency of Banks regarding the disbursement mechanism for IPS loans, according to ABC Color. The submission was made by Senator Lilian Samaniego and includes six questions linked to the possibility of directly crediting those funds into accounts that beneficiaries already hold at any authorized financial institution.
According to ABC Color, one of the main points of the proposal is to determine whether there is any legal, regulatory, operational or technical rule that prevents IPS from making those deposits without requiring the opening of an account at a specific institution. It also asks whether the insured person may freely choose where to receive the money and what tools the Paraguay Payment System offers to carry out bulk transfers to different institutions.
The request, always according to that outlet, also seeks to know whether those mechanisms have the capacity to process between 1,800 and 2,000 monthly disbursements. Another point aims to establish whether, from the standpoint of banking rules and financial consumer protection, it is admissible to condition the disbursement of a loan granted by a non-financial institution on the opening of an account at a specific bank.
ABC Color added that information is also being requested on any consultations, complaints, reports or opinions received from 2020 to the present by the Central Bank or the Superintendency of Banks in relation to this disbursement system. The request expressly mentions IPS, Visión Banco and Ueno Bank, among other possible parties involved.
Also on the agenda is the request for the summons and impeachment of the Minister of Public Works, Claudia Centurión. The issue returns to the chamber after having been postponed at the request of Senator Líder Amarilla, one of the sponsors, ABC Color reported.
According to that outlet, the initiative faces political resistance. The president of the Senate, Basilio “Bachi” Núñez, and the leader of the ruling bloc, Natalicio Chase, have already expressed their rejection. The outcome will depend on whether the sponsors gather the absolute majority required by the Constitution and by Law No. 164/93.
The questionnaire for the minister is related to the August 15 accident at the traffic-light intersection in the Pedrozo neighborhood, in Ypacaraí, where five people died, according to the statement of reasons cited by ABC Color. The sponsors argue that the analysis should also cover road safety conditions and the responsibilities of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications.
Among other matters, the Senate also addressed a bill to increase the budget by G. 7,000 million and grant a 20% salary raise to community health agents working in Family Health Units. The proposal, introduced by Senator José Oviedo, aims to raise pay from G. 2,900,000 to G. 3,480,000 for some 2,800 agents, according to ABC Color.
That bill was ultimately postponed. ABC Color noted that Oviedo did not rule out the possibility that it could be incorporated into the budget law. Senator Esperanza Martínez said the General Budget of the Nation could provide mechanisms to apply the increase gradually, while Senator Dionisio Amarilla valued the initiative but questioned the timing of its presentation because of the proximity of the municipal elections on October 5. Oviedo rejected that interpretation.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this fact.
