Martin Torrijos' Sister Pushed Through $24 Million Dollar (Broken) Cargo Scanner Deal
Torrijos Pauzner Rachel, the sister of former Panamanian President Martín Torrijos, was the legal representative of the Nuctech company that won a public bid in 2007 for the government's purchase of new cargo scanning systems that were to be used by the National Customs Authority. The company was the only bidder, and their bid was $24 million dollars. Torrijos Pauzner declined to discuss the case yesterday. Instead, her partner, the lawyer Jose Javier Rivera, said that being the President's sister at that time did not impede her from participating in the bidding process for the government contract as the legal representative of the Chinese company. Yesterday La Prensa revealed that none of the scanners were ever installed or used, and that several of the scanners are damaged and rusting in a hanger of the former Howard Air Force Base. The Customs Director during the Torrijos administration, Vilma de Luca, said yesterday that when she left office in June 2009, an extension of the guarantee for these scanners was pending, "in view of problems not attributable to the providing company." (Source - La Prensa)
Editor's Comment: Remember when the PRD went nuts because one of Ricardo Martinelli's cousins won some contracts to make embroidered shirts? I don't think those contracts were for $24 million dollars, and the shirts were actually used. I'm going to find out how much these scanners cost on the open market right now. No matter, (in my humble opinion) paying $24 million dollars in public funds for cargo scanners that don't work is a really bad deal no matter how you slice it. Well, it was probably a pretty good deal for Torrijos' sister, in any case. She got paid, the Chinese company got paid, so it's certainly a good deal for them. However the Panamanian people got screwed, and whatever the scanners are supposed to be looking for is getting through, so it's a bad deal for the customer. And how many other bids worth $24 million dollars were handed out by the Torrijos administration when there was only one company bidding? And we're supposed to believe that the fact that his sister was pushing the deal through had absolutely nothing to do with it? Yeah, right.
