No evidence of ACP interference in contract

THERE WAS no evidence of undue interference by ACP Administrator Jorge Luis Quijano in the awarding of a contract for a water treatment plant in Rodman says the Inspector General of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP).

Lourdes Castillo, a member of the ACP Board of Directors, said that there was pressure from Deputy Adolfo Valderrama at the beginning of August.

The committee that was supposed to award the contract has posptoned the final decision on the issue until the allegations were investigated.

The Inspector General concluded that there was no evidence of interference by either Valderrama or Quijano.

The contract will now be considered at the committee’s next meeting.

Castillo, who was appointed to the ACP board in February 2013 by then-President Ricardo Martinelli, is linked to the company Ship’s Supply, which is dedicated to the treatment of waste and waste from ships.

She has said undue pressure was exerted to award the contract to Blackwater Panama, S.A.

Castillo  has her own problems, facing allegations  of involvement in bribery connected to maritime shipping.