Over a period of less than five months, the authority for road transport and transit (ATTT) is shown to have approved payments totaling $1.2 million for the same consulting project. The first brief, which was rubber stamped by the comptroller general’s office, had a total of cost of $989,487 and was awarded to the Technological University of Panama (UTP).
The UTP contract brief involved an organizational analysis of the ATTT structure, its functions, technical and human resources, equipment, as well as infrastructure and services. The purpose of the project was to design an appropriate structure aimed at improving efficiency and the quality of output at the organization.
In its wake, a second project carrying a lower price tag was published on the government procurement portal Panama Compra on January 13. The brief was essentially the same: to design a programme of organizational change aimed at improving the culture of the institution.
According to former ATTT director Roberto Moreno, it is hard to explain why the institution would resort to the help of outside consultants twice over the same issue. The original contract was approved last year: “if the current ATTT director Julio Gonzalez had just arrived at his desk, I could understand he may not be aware of the duplication. However, he has been in office since 2014, so he can hardly be unaware of the original UTP contract”, Mr. Moreno denounced. In his view, improvements at the institution are possible on the strength of its own staff, as happened when he was in charge.
“Transport is a dynamic sector, and as such it requires dynamic professionals who are prepared to evolve”, he explained.
During the 30-month tenure of current ATTT director Julio Gonzalez, the institution has been struggling to cope. Amongst the many issues it faces is the proliferation of unlicensed buses as well as the operations of foreign-owned enterprises that hire taxis for the day to drivers with no restrictions or security checks whatsoever.
According to the president of the Anti-Corruption Front, Enrique Montenegro, consulting projects are permissible as long as they are awarded through open tenders and not directly.
