Minster asked for accounting of $12 modular hospital

 
1,076Views 1Comments Posted 20/05/2020

Citizen concerns over the rejection of a donated hospital in Atlapa and possible cost overruns in the construction  of  A modular hospital have led to a  request by the Attorney General of the Administration for information from the  Rafael Sabonge Minister of Public Works .

Among the functions of the Administration Procurator, according to the Constitution, is to monitor the official conduct of officials and ensure that they properly perform their duties.

On Monday, the lawyer Ernesto Cedeño asked the Attorney - to hold Sabonge accountable, so that, among other things, he should exolain why he rejected the donation offered by the company China Construction America (CCA) to construct in the Amador conventions a hospital with 1,500 beds and, instead, hired the company SmartBrix Central America to build the 100-bed modular hospital, the cost of which, including equipment, is around $12 million..

Cedeño, , asked the Attorney General to consult Sabonge, for example, if it was true that the CCA company wanted to temporarily convert the Amador convention center into a modular hospital, with more than 1,500 beds,  the character.  O of donation; at what time the offer was made and if it reached the State in writing; and how much money the State would save with that donation.

He also asked the minister to say whether the construction of the modular hospital honored the principles of public procurement in the area of ​​transparency and the rules for preventing a conflict of interest.

The lawyer has also said that, to date, the Ministry of Public Works has not explained why  Panama leaned towards hospital hotels and if it was cheaper than the rejected level 1 hospital.