Health Ministry rejects 5.4 million masks, 4  million gloves

The Ministry of Health (Minsa) has rejected a consignment of    5.4 million face masks without visors and  4 million pairs of surgical gloves with a  cost of $4.4 million for not meeting technical criteria.

 The move followed the publication of a La Prensa investigation revealing that the Security Equipment company was not complying with Health legislation regarding the provision of medical supplies – and that the technical approval had not been complied with.

Five percent of the merchandise agreed in a commitment letter signed by the Ministry of the Presidency had already been delivered. Said  Carlos Emilio Boyd Farach, one of the shareholders of Security Equipment.

“Neither the gloves nor the masks meet the criteria and therefore, the ministry did not accept them and does not pay them, the gloves they ask for are made of nitrile,” said a Minsa spokesperson.

As in many other cases, reports La Prensa, it was a direct purchase under the umbrella of the However he company is not registered as a bidder to be able to offer medical supplies in the Minsa, a prerequisite for passing the technical validation.

The Panamanian Association for the Distribution of Medical Products described the purchase as “a great mistake”, since, by not requiring the offeror’s certificate or the operating license – very different from the operation notice of the Ministry of Commerce – any company could take advantage the opportunity to offer the input without meeting the basic security requirements.

The version of the new vice minister of the Presidency, Carlos García, and  Panama vice president José Gabriel Gaby Carrizo, were sought , but the questions were not answered.

Boyd Farach told La Prensa:  “Due to the publications and due to personal injury, I made the decision to move the merchandise to another country,” but did , not to mention that the Minsa had rejected the supplies.

The company operates lines of commerce far removed from that of medical supplies. Its business with the State in the past has revolved around the sale of products such as firearms, uniforms, and ballistic vests, but never medical supplies, according to the records of Panama Compra.

Comptroller General, Gerardo Solís, reiterated that the Comptroller’s Office will not pay any supplier anything that has not been received to the satisfaction of the entity and that is duly verified and that in the case of this purchase he has not received the information.