The restriction on hiring individuals who have been convicted in the five years preceding the public act of committing crimes is part of what is contemplated in the bill that is about to be approved in the first debate in Panama.
The new Public Hiring Law is in its final phase to be approved, in first debate, in the Commerce Commission, informed the National Assembly last February 12.
For the business sector in Costa Rica, the large number of direct contracts between state institutions implies a number of defects and abuses in the use of public funds.
The employers' guild is of the opinion that in direct contracting there is no guarantee that the best use is actually being made of public funds, and there are indications of a lack of transparency in contracts. Some of them have even been declared confidential.
An ICEFI study concludes that corruption in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras covers "virtually all sectors" and in Guatemala alone, the losses generated are estimated at $550 million per year.
The book "Corruption: Its Paths and Impact on Society and an Agenda to Confront it in the Central American North Triangle", "... studies the relationship between corruption and democracy, highlighting that corruption in the C.A.N.T -El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras - has special characteristics derived from historical aspects, such as the construction of weak states, periods of authoritarianism, civil war and counterinsurgency systems, and the impairment of judicial independence."
In Costa Rica, the National Road Safety Council has signed a confidentiality agreement with the UNOPS to keep information on two publicly funded road construction projects a secret.
In an agreement with the Panamanian Public Ministry, the Brazilian construction company has committed to delivering all of the information related to Panama and paying a fine of $220 million.
From a statement issued by the Public Ministry of Panama:
August 1, 2017. - On Wednesday, July 26 of this year, the Public Ministry of the Republic of Panama signed an EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION agreement with ODEBRECHT, in compliance with Law 121 of December 31, 2013 (Law on Organized Crime), Act 15 of May 10, 2015 (Act adopting the United Nations Convention against Corruption) and Law 4 of February 17, 2017 (Law on Agreements on Penalty and Effective Collaboration in the Inquiry- Mixed System).
Various organizations have criticized the text of the new procurement law pointing out that it does not impose the transparency needed in these processes.
The main criticism concerns the fact that the text finally approved by the National Assembly eliminated an item which enabled companies convicted of corruption to be disqualified.
Transparency International believes that the bill currently under discussion is insufficient to prevent corruption in the state procurement system.
According to the Panamanian chapter of Transparency International, the bill on public procurement in the country should include aspects such as making public the annual action plan to further reduce discretion to recruit directly, eliminating the possibility of "addenda which is harmful to the interests of the State " or improving the process of paying bills.
SAP International agreed with the the US National Stock Committee to pay $3.7 million of its profits and $189,000 in interest for bribing panamanian officials.
The penalty relates to the corruption case linked to former company executive, Vicente Eduardo Garcia, who was sentenced to 22 months in prison for bribing Panamanian officials. Garcia paid $145,000 in bribes to the company Advanced Consulting Panama, SA, who won a $14.5 million contract with the Social Security Department which included the sale of software licenses.
The counter reform of the Public Procurement Act prohibits hiring companies whose representatives have been convicted of crimes against public administration, money laundering or terrorism.
Panamanian authorities are still in the process of reversing the amendments made to the Public Procurement Act 22 during the government of Ricardo Martinelli, such as the "abbreviated tenders" or "less pressing contracts".
Officials of the new Solis administration said that in the awarding of works "there is blatent and entrenched favoritism" that "is a disadvantage" to companies who "are not friends of anyone."
An article in Nacion.com reports that "... The chief executive of the National Institute of Housing and Urbanism (INVU), Sonia Montero Díaz denounced the existence of a 'monopoly' in the construction of houses for social welfare. "
Transparency in purchases made by the State is the main barrier to combating corruption of public officials and the only way to ensure fair competition between suppliers.
In all Central American countries resistance to single platforms for government procurement is headed by public officials who thrive on the old systems of administration which kept processes and decisions regarding expenditure in the dark.
The Ministry of Government of Guatemala has awarded $5.3 million in contracts for road signs, via 68 separated purchasing acts.
This practice meant that in almost every event there was just one bidder, and that contracts could be awarded in just three weeks, avoiding the greater transparency and control present in a public tender.
"This subdivision is in addition to those made recently by the Department of Administrative and Security Affairs of the Presidency (SAAS) and the Ministry of Health" reports prensalibre.com.
Despite a direct order from the president, Costa Rican ministerial bureaucracy is still blocking a system which looks to eliminate corruption in public procurements.
The Ministry of Finance has not yet signed the decree establishing the mandatory use of Mer-Link in procurement processes, which could delay its implementation in January 2014.
Nacion.com reports: "Although the first version of the decree was received by the Ministry of Finance on 6 June, it has yet to be signed, a fact which will delay implementation of the system, according to the director of the Digital Government, Alicia Avendaño".
From 10th to 13th September Panama will host the International Forum Against Corruption in Public Procurement in Latin America and the Caribbean.
From a press release issued by the Authority for Consumer Protection and Competition in Panama (Acodeco):
Panama will host an upcoming regional forum which will include discussion of techniques to tackle corruption and collusion in procurement processes and hiring in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Special Prosecutor's Office against Corruption in Honduras has denounced delays in tender announcements; such delays are then used to justify direct purchases, arguing urgency.
A direct hire service for metering and billing of electricity goes against legal procedures, warned the anticorruption prosecutor in Honduras, Henry Salgado.
A controversy is taking hold in Honduras in light of the, apparently contradictory, handling of a new contract which the National Electricity Company (ENEE) must sign for the delivery of the aforementioned services, after the announcement last November that the government would not renew its contract with the company Servicios de Medición Eléctrica de Honduras, or Semeh for short.