Conflict of interest query in Metro Line 2 award

ONE OF the seven members of the evaluating committee, for the Metro Line 2 project had previously provided consulting services to the major partner of the winning consortium, raising questions about a possible conflict of interest.

Technological University of Panama (UTP) Rector, Óscar Ramírez, advised Odebrecht, between 2010-2012 on the Bay of Panama sanitation project and the construction of Line 1 of the Metro.
“It is a conflict of interest that should have been avoided. Ramírez should not have been a member of the Technical Committee,” said Angélica Maytín, director of the National Authority on Transparency.
Consortium Line 2 submitted a bid that was $1.8 billion, $200 million more than the lowest bid. But it won the bid based on its score awarded by the technical committee.
Asked about the potential conflict of interest, Metro Legal Affairs Director Marcia Arosemena said that Ramírez was appointed to the committee due to his experience in structural issues, reports La Prensa.
“A conflict of interest is when the judgement of the individual is compromised relative to his primary interest, and the integrity of the decision tends to be unduly influenced by a secondary interest,” she said.
In her view, the committee was even-handed in its decision-making and complied with the methodology established in the tender.
“The honesty, honor and ethics of the citizens convened to provide this service to the country cannot be questioned without any support,” she said.
Ramírez acknowledged that he provided the services, but said that he has worked for many national and international companies.
He added that the work he did as a member of the commission was done honestly and “motivated only by the desire to serve my country.”