OPINION: Turning a blind eye to looting

EVERY DAY  there are more revelations of the looting of national coffers by a group of entrepreneurs close to the last government. The  plan for  the rehabilitation and widening of the Arraiján-La Chorrera highway, was initially agreed in 2010 between the State

and the company TCT, for $152.6 million – but ended up costing $ 161.8 million -, forensic auditors of the Comptroller’s Office estimate that the equity loss would be $ 7.9 million. In essence, the state ended  up paying for supposed jobs that had not even been asked for. This implies the frontal violation of public procurement rules, created to ensure integrity in pricing, specifications and other conditions in those acts. How could this happen? The anti-corruption prosecutions have not yet ended, but there are many indications that certain  characters – including two former ministers and the legal representative of the company – apparently turned a blind eye or participated actively in this robbery. It’s time for justice to be done …  La Prensa. September 10