The administrator of the Urban and Domestic Cleaning Authority (AAUD), Ovil Moreno, announced on Thursday that none of the companies hired for waste collection in the district of San Miguelito have the endorsement of the Comptroller General of the Republic. Among the companies mentioned are Volquetes Unidos de Panamá, Equipos y Volquetes Panamá Este, Grupo de Contratistas Internacional, Bicani Holding, Centenario Don Jon, Relleno Transporte y Equipos, and Voltran. Moreno explained that AAUD is applying article 79 of Public Procurement Law 22, which allows for exceptional contracting in cases of evident, unforeseeable, and urgent situations, such as the sanitary crisis facing San Miguelito. He detailed that the total investment allocated to address the emergency amounts to $594,371.94, of which $587,381.84 corresponds to equipment rental, $6,847 for food for operational staff and volunteers, and $192.60 for miscellaneous expenses. The official reiterated that the amount of garbage accumulated on the streets exceeds normal levels, which necessitated an immediate response. "We could not cross our arms. We had to help the more than 280,000 residents of the San Miguelito district," Moreno stated. The AAUD began to support waste collection in the district on January 1, following a request from the president to address the emergency. However, it was not until January 19 that the institution took definitive control of the service, coinciding with the expiration of the contract with the company Revisalud. Moreno's statements came during his appearance before the Commission on Labor, Health, and Social Development, where he answered a questionnaire of 26 questions related to the management of garbage collection in various regions of the country. During his intervention, Moreno warned that one of the main obstacles of his administration is the budget cut applied to the institution, as of the $99.2 million requested, only $66.7 million were recommended, which limits the execution of several programs, especially the purchase of equipment necessary to address the solid waste crisis.
