The Nullification Lawsuit Against the Panama Ports Contract is Supported by President Mulino

The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, expressed his support for the lawsuits filed by the Comptroller of the Republic, Anel Flores, against the contract between the State and Panama Ports.  “The Comptroller General’s demand, which I fully support, is well justified,” Mulino said during his weekly press conference on Thursday, July 31.  “We’ve all seen what that contract has cost the Panamanian nation, including us. That contract, when it was renewed for another 25 years, was not endorsed by the Comptroller General. That’s what’s being demanded against us, its nullity, because it wasn’t endorsed. All contracts listed with any third party must be endorsed,” he explained. 

Sale of the Company that Manages Panamanian Ports

The president also spoke about the sale process of Panama Ports’ parent company, CK Hutchison. “The other issue is the entire sale process of those same ports, Balboa and Cristóbal, by the Hong Kong-based company CK Hutchison, which is at a standstill, as far as we know. It seems to be a broad process. There are 41 ports around the world being sold, and the two ports in Panama are in separate processes. So one thing has nothing to do with the other,” he explained.  Mulino announced that Panama will adopt a port policy to enforce a “coherent maritime and logistics strategy” across all the services the country offers.

Comptroller Flores’ Lawsuit

The Comptroller General of the Republic, Anel “Bolo” Flores, announced on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 30, that he filed a lawsuit before the Supreme Court of Justice, alleging unconstitutionality and nullity, against the contract between the Panamanian State and the Panama Ports Company. Flores stated that he went to court to file this lawsuit on behalf of the Panamanian state and hopes to receive the appropriate responses. “There are international publications that report transactions involving the ports that Panama Ports represents in Balboa and Cristóbal, and they are multimillion-dollar transactions that do not involve Panama, the true owners of the ports,” he emphasized.

“This is an issue that is against the endorsement, which is why we are requesting the annulment of the extension of this contract,” said the Comptroller General.