Bosco has to back down on garbage truck contract

His Excellency doesn't like the smell. Photo by the Presidencia

Bosco's garbage politics start to hurt his backers
by Eric Jackson

It's regrettable and shameful. I think that it could have been prevented, that the city had the capability and organization to confront this before the situation became so grave.

Vice-Mayor Roxana Méndez
on the garbage situation

Recall last year's mayoral campaign. In it, Bosco Vallarino:

Accused then-Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro of corruption for the city waste collection and disposal department (DIMAUD) practice of cannibalizing certain of its garbage trucks to keep others running;
Alleged foul play in the contract that the city had made with a Spanish company, Urbaser Plotosa, to take over management of the Cerro Patacon dump and set up recycling operations there;
Promised 100 new garbage trucks on the streets; and
Advocated a "trash to energy" garbage incineration and electricity generation plant.

That was then. Since that time Vallarino has been immersed in legal troubles, which the Martinelli administration has been making extraordinary efforts to end. The mayor is unpopular and faced with a PRD-dominated city council. Vallarino hasn't fully implemented the contract with Urbaser Plotosa, but doesn't have the votes to outright rescind it. The garbage pickup fleet has deteriorated to the point where most of the trucks are broken down and the mayor and his political appointees have shown no creativity in keeping it running. We have fewer, not more, garbage trucks. Bosco's still plugging the incineration idea, but it's very unlikely that he would be able to get this passed through the municipal government.

Most of all, garbage collection gets ever farther behind, especially in the neighborhoods with PRD representantes, but in the city's wealthiest areas it's not as bad a problem. The crudest possible political, class and race prejudices have been stamped on a stinking mess:

The garbage piles up in Calidonia, kitty-corner from the representante's house
Photo by Eric Jackson

Unable to maintain the fleet of garbage trucks, the mayor and city council agreed to buy more. But then Vallarino called for the submission of bids with a deadline later the same day --- it was Holy Thursday, the day before Good Friday, and as only one two-company consortium came in, decided to waive the bidding and make a direct deal for an $8.6 million purchase of 51 trucks from the two companies, Equipa Panama SA and Partes Diesel. But the PRD representantes balked, and Chamber of Commerce president Adolfo Linares noted to La Prensa that the circumstances showed signs of a rigged process.

The criticism mounted, including from members of Vallarino's own Panameñista Party, up to and including its leader, Vice President and Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Varela, who called upon the city council to rescind the direct purchase. President Martinelli --- not for the first time --- angrily called upon Vallarino to get garbage collection under control. Minister of Commerce and Industry Roberto Henríquez complained that Bosco's performance is a matter of "administrative incompetence" and a "stain" that affects the national government. Henríquez added that with a proper recycling program the city would make money off of garbage rather than making a net expenditure for its collection and disposal.

Vallarino complained that hardly anyone pays the bill for garbage collection and instituted a moratorium on late fees and a discount for people who pay up. So far, few have. He renewed his calls for garbage incineration, prompting little support and, because most environmental activists think that this idea and anything else Bosco proposes is a nonstarter, few protests. He asked the national government for help, and especially for money. He talked about privatization as a solution.

Most importantly, Vallarino threw in the towel on his special contract, which was rescinded. A new, abbreviated bidding process that will take less than one month is underway. At the end of this, an order for 51 new trucks will be made.

The national government didn't give Bosco any money. It did send seven backhoes, 20 trucks and Minister of the Presidency Jimmy Papadimitriu to supervise an extraordinary collection of the accumulated garbage. A lot of the refuse was taken away, first to three temporary staging areas in two of which, El Chorrillo and Carrasquilla, those who lived next to the stinking mountains of refuse didn't like it one bit and bitterly complained. But those dumps were, as advertised, temporary.

The problem still isn't solved, but meanwhile President Martinelli has appointed a committee --- not including Bosco Vallarino --- to look at more viable lasting solutions. Some of these include:

As the threat of not picking up the garbage of those who don't pay affects third parties if it is carried out, the garbage pickup fee may be added to people's electric bill, such that failure to pay would entail a power shutoff;
Solid waste management, which was devolved to the cities in 1999 and quickly became an absolute disaster everywhere except Panama City (where Mayor Navarro maintained it as an annoying problem mostly lower than at crisis level), may be taken over by the national government again; and
Various angles of privatization in waste collection and management that are being considered.

At a certain point the parties of those who play political games pay a price.
Photo by Eric Jackson

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