OPINION: New law fails against corruption

THE EXECUTIVE  branch has signed the law reforming the state’s public procurement regime. After three years of government and in spite of the great corruption scandals in the tenders and purchases from the State, which start with Odebrecht and include the National Aid Program (PAN), the eternal ignominy of medicines and hospital  inputs and a very long catalog of direct contracting and rigged tenders, the country deserved something more: a better law, which would combat conflicts of interest, would disqualify companies, eradicate dangerous turnkey contracts and once and for all, the purchases of medicines. None of this is in the new legal norm. There was enough time to prepare an excerpt to protect Panama’s interests in the next megaprojects, such as Line 3 of the Metro or the fourth bridge over the Canal. There is no justification for this mediocrity. In the end, it has been a  bad joke for society. The best The way to combat corruption is to prevent it, and the new law does not … La Prensa Sep 30.