A few days ago, the businessman Mayer Mizrachi lashed out at the administration of Jorge Luis Quijano in the Canal, who contracted the Quintiq software for $15 million which, according to him, was not delivered to the Canal, but for which there is no judicial investigation.
According to Quijano, former administrator of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), the investigations are ongoing, “I cooperate with the authorities that have to cooperate, because I don’t owe anyone anything. The attacks I receive are unfair.”
He added that the purchase of this platform began in 2013, after a vice-presidency had already been created to deal with computer issues and seeing that the expansion of the Canal was coming, and changes had to be made that had not occurred since 2000 related to transit. and Canal transit resources.
“The Quintiq platform represented the transit part itself that had to do with optimization with transit operations, port movements, navigation assistance, deck assistance, land and water transport. There was a process from 2015 to 2017 of searching of the best platform to meet these last series of needs. There were 25 suppliers in the end and 6 remained, including Quintiq,” he said.
He stated that it is not that the Quintiq platform is not working, but rather that the Platinum contractor was unable to generate the expected optimized transit schedules. “So we went straight to Quintiq, so they could show us a performance proof of concept. They requested that they be given until November or December 2019 to develop the concept.
The Public Ministry opened, between 2019 and 2020, an ex officio investigation. We know that this investigative body has been conducting interviews, has taken statements and has requested information from the Channel on the matter.
alleged extortion
Quijano also referred to the alleged extortion he experienced by a group of National Assembly deputies, when presenting the institution’s budget to the Legislative Branch.
He said that they tried to cut the Channel’s budget, they put him in a small room, very close to the Budget Commission, they took away his cell phone so as not to record conversations and they gave him letters for hiring.
According to the former official, who worked for 44 years in the Canal, this situation occurred in 2017 and when taking the data they realized that about $143 million had been cut from the part of expenses, which represented $40 million in personnel, which said that we had to cut almost 1,000 Canal employees.
“Not all the deputies of all the parties were there, but they were led by Luis Barría, who was the one who talked the most and the others just listened. There was an interpretation by Luis Barría, supported by his lawyers, that they could alter the Canal’s budget and They were going to do it, and they did, but I think it was a lesson for us; I think we left very well established what can and cannot be done,” Quijano said.
political aspirations
Regarding this issue, Quijano stated that he has no political aspirations. “I think that possibly these attacks that I am receiving are after I was invited to a Constituent Convention of a party that I do support, which is the Movement Another Path, but I have no interest in any political position; my participation is technical, in maritime issue,” he specified.
He asserted that traditional politics is already tiresome and “it must be changed; young people must actively participate and take charge of their future, have another voice that is not the traditional one that is heard in the Assembly.”
