CSS imposes a new date for the million-dollar waste contract

Social Insurance Fund (CSS) quietly renewed the tender process to keep the hospital waste collection and processing business tied up, avoiding complaints that the process was unfair and could align with pre-determined private interests.

It is a new contract worth 58.7 million dollars which is intended to be left tied up and where an incinerator is required as the only way to process this hospital waste.

On February 20, CSS quietly announced a new appendix in which he sets the presentation of the proposal for the next March 4. The company Pumper, which has been controlling this business for many years through contracts and direct additions, and which already has an incinerator, is behind the event.

Previously, own The General Directorate for Public Procurement ordered HSS to correct the specifications for this tender as it believes that the complaints of disparity are valid.

Last Monday, the company Environmental Services from Chiriquí filed a new lawsuit against this CSS bidding process.

“We consider it a violation of the right of the principle of equal participation of the tenderer to exclude the above-mentioned requirement as a mandatory minimum and contradiction with the content of the statement of objections, especially in the details of the technical specifications, section C. on treatment, which specifically allows that “however, (the proposer) can use as a method of treatment alternative to incineration, equipment for autoclaves (moist heat)”

Estimating that the service can be provided by other processing methods and when there is capacity, as previously explained in detail,” the Environmental Protection Service maintains Chiriquí before the General Administration of Public Contracts.‘

58.7

million dollars is a binding contract.

4

March is the new date for the presentation of proposals.

The company pointed out that the exclusive position of this request contradicts the current legislation, especially articles 22 and 23 of Resolution 296 of May 17, 2022, “which dictates health standards for the operation and supervision of facilities and systems.” alternative treatments of hazardous hospital waste“and which regulates alternative treatment systems other than incineration; adding, respected addresses, to the already numerous statements of the Ministry of Health, regarding the alternative treatment of solid and hospital waste, the scope of this contract, we attach note No. 644-DSA-SDGS, dated 12 June 2023 was issued by the general sub-administration for environmental health in response to questions in the official letter N088-2023-TACP, where they note that alternative methods for adequate handling of hazardous hospital waste.

“We ask this Directorate for attention to ensure fair conditions of competition between bidders and not to limit the request only to the capacity of the incineration equipment as exclusive, since the contract itself allows these alternative treatments, and therefore it is appropriate to request the available capacity of the equipment to be used for providing service. waste processing – according to the contractual scope“Chiriquí Environmental Services demanded.