Faltering supplier gets new Metro contract

A FEW short months ago, President Ricardo Martinelli talked of canceling the contract of the company handling Panama’s Metro Bus payments. Now, the same company has received a no-bid contract for handling the ticketing of the Metro subway system

The decision by the government to issue a no-bid contract to Sonda to handle the payments for the Metro has been met with criticism reports La Prensa

Sonda has been widely criticized for its handling of the payments for the Metro bus system, and users are shocked that it will now be allowed to handle the payments for the rest of the system.
Esperanza Mena, a spokeswoman for the Foundation For The Protection Of Users, said that the poor performance of Sonda with the Metro bus system should have disqualified it from being handed more responsibilities.
"The tender should have been open so other companies could participate," Mena said, noting that Sonda has still not complied with the requirements of its contract for the Metro bus system, which have resulted in long lines for customers.
In a survey on prensa.com, 211 of 281 people said that Sonda should not have received the contract.
Minister of the Presidency Roberto Henríquez said that Sonda has increased its performance in the Metro bus system, and therefore deserved the contract.
"The problems were corrected and shows us that we will not have to worry," the minister said.
The contract will mean that the government will be able to implement a single-card system for both the Metro and Metro bus systems.