Clamouring for Fidanque’s Head at Tocumen S.A.

A lawsuit demanding the immediate dismissal all Joseph Fidanque III, General Manager of Tocumen S.A., for failing to comply with Article 14 of Law 23 of 2003, which regulates the functioning of the state company charged with operating the airports of the Republic of Panama.

According to the plaintiff, Edwin Sanjur, there exists sufficient evidence pointing to a violation of said law. Article 14 of Law 23 of 2003 stipulates that “Members of the board of Directors, the General Manager, as well as internal auditors, are forbidden from entering into contracts or understandings, be they verbal or written, with the companies in charge of operating airports and airdromes, for the provision of goods and services which may benefit them directly, their relatives or associates, or of any company of which they may be shareholders or beneficiaries. Any contravention of this article will be sanctioned with the immediate removal from their charge.”

Only last week, Mr. Fidanque III admitted that he had executive positions and was a shareholder in at least two of the private companies which benefited from direct orders or contracts from Tocumen SA, while the acted as a general manager of such organization. Mr Fidanque III still appears as a director in Cochez y Cía. S.A. as well as Geo F. Novey, Inc., according to the Public Registry of Panama.

These two companies have been the beneficiaries of no less than 27 directly awarded contracts since Mr. Fidanque III took up his responsibilities as General Manager of Tocumen SA.

In an attempt to justify the rationale behind contracts that directly benefited the abovementioned firms, Mr. Fidanque III preposterously claimed that the procurement office of Tocumen SA  was unaware of his economic interests in these private firms. According to people with the legal and business knowledge of the aeronautical industry, Mr. Fidanque III is also in violation of article 8 of Law 23 of 2003, which states that “the General Manager and internal Auditor are forbidden from engaging in remunerated external activities, whether public or private, whether liberal or commercial, with the only exception of academia outside working hours.”

Last Tuesday, Mr. Fidanque III admitted to being shareholder in a number of companies that have linkes with his family business, Fidanque Telecommunications. He also admitted to being a business partner of Guillermo Henne Motta in a company called Panama Waste Management, which only last week was awarded a contract worth $214,327, for the management of waste products at Panama City Airport, beating four competing offers. This is the latest in a series of contracts awarded to Panama Waste Management: the firm was awarded four separate contracts during 2015, two of them on the same day, April 17, for $102,417 and $136,161 respectively.