BRIEFS. Politics

Government fuel spending up 66 percent

The government will spend an estimated $50 million in 2008 on gas for its fleet of 14,000 vehicles, a 67 percent increase from 2007.

Last year, government fuel expenses totaled $30 million. But rising fuel costs have prompted the big hike in spending, said Raphael Fuentes, director of Política y Gestión de Compra de PanamaCompra. The government uses about 800,000 gallons of fuel a month, or 9.6 million gallons a year.

The government has a contract with Petróleos Delta to provide fuel. That contract expires this year.

To establish greater control over fuel expenditures, the government is planning to use a procurement card system that would allow authorities to better track consumption.

The government will be receiving proposals from companies interested in bidding for the fuel contract for the next two years on at 8:30 a.m. Friday at the Credicorp Bank building.