Eduholding and Paredes: Key in the Meduca scandal

The network of officials who allegedly manipulated tenders in the Ministry of Education (Meduca) can have ramifications at the highest level and the participation of a twin group of companies.

The Comptroller and the president of the Republic, Juan Carlos Varela, were already aware of the problem, before being partially dismantled officers network earlier this year.

However, in the first year of government Varela, millions of dollars in contracts were awarded to companies identified irregularities.

The urgent purchase of books of mathematics and physics was the trigger for all, in December last year, revealed a source at the company who asked not to be named.

It happened on Wednesday, December 30 last year, when the Education Minister Marcela Paredes, ordered up the portal PanamáCompra, the acquisition of 3 million dollars in books of mathematics and physics, with digital tools.

The order immediately caused the reaction in the Palacio de las Garzas, already alerted to the network that operated in the Meduca.

After that, the minister Paredes was ordered to suspend the buying Presidency had ordered and had his signature, along with the revision of the Curriculum Directorate, the head of the legal department, Luis Cedeño Merel, and managing director, Ivanessa Mojica.

"Everything had justification and signature of the Minister Paredes. The funny part is that many of the purchases were made trouble, instead of having a normal schedule. I can also say that the number of pressing minor purchases was tall and repeat all wore the justification for the minister, "said a source close to the issue and investigations.

Monday January 11, Paredes comes to fire and demand the resignation of a group of officials who were considered his confidence, which caused a stir in the institution.

At the time, the leader just said the layoffs occurred "after making a balance in which repeated errors were found in the reports of evaluation of tenders, the information up to the site PanamáCompra, and multiple rectifications by the Comptroller against acts of purchase. "

Paredes also confirmed the resignation of her friend and head of the legal department of Meduca, Luis Cedeño Merel.

Cedeño Merel was the only official Meduca who the minister asked him to resign; the rest were dismissed.

"All processes had failed to go through it, and before this obvious situation of multiple failures, he submitted his resignation," Paredes, who accepted all the dismissed officials were appointed under his administration said.

"The strange thing is that the minister Paredes never struck them and filed a complaint about the handling of the officials in charge of procurement. On the contrary, some of those dismissed were considered his closest collaborators and even traveling with her abroad, such is the case Mojica, on the trip to Paris last November" said the source.

That is why there are other clues that lead to possible corruption network operating inside Meduca .

A source close to the investigation says that everything points to an economic group that managed to place appointments within the Meduca , including Ivanessa Mojica , managing director of Meduc

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He also drew twin companies that consistently participated in purchases occurred between late 2014 and 2015 : Smart Fortuner and Eduholding , the latter represented by a code name : Allan Figueroa.

"It was very common to hear and see the name of Allan Figueroa Meduca " said one of the people in charge of the investigation of this case .

Eduholding alert caused the Comptroller in October , with the millionaire sale of chairs for Meduca , a fact that was recognized by the Minister in an interview Paredes , without elaborating .

Federico Humbert Comptroller found that the catalog that used the Meduca to buy chairs Eduholding prices had "inflated".

The team conducted an assessment Comptroller in October and found that the purchase prices, authorized by Paredes, did not conform to market prices, and did not approve the endorsement of the contract.

According to the appraisal, each chair Eduholding sold at $ 89, had a market price between 45 and 53 dollars.

Paredes did not surrender before the rejection of Humbert and submitted the issue to a negotiation in which Eduholding adjusted the price with the assessment of the Comptroller.

By then, Meduca had made another purchase seats to the sister company of Eduholding, Smart Fortuner, which was also forced to cut prices.

Meduca sources said that most of the chairs are damaged in warehouses of schools.

After the red warning Eduholding, Paredes chairs changed provider, the company Jellini.

This company has also found problems in some cases for not complying with the technical specifications, the source said this means.

"Nothing can assure us that Eduholding has other twin societies, but now Meduca companies that excel in recruitment are Index and Jeyko Palma," the source said.

All these cases are part of the Comptroller's audit carried out in the Meduca , to pass the case to the Public Ministry .

Audits to Meduca been detected so far , lack of proper procedures in tenders .

However , there are departments related to contracts that have not been touched in this case, as infrastructure .

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Cifras

89

• dólares era el costo de cada silla escolar que Eduholding le vendió al Ministerio de Educación.

45-53

• dólares es el precio real de mercado de las sillas, lo que evidencia un sobrecosto.