New GPC boss objects to questions on huge bid variance

Oct 18, 2012 News

…submits $228M more than other bidder for anti-malaria drugs

Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (New GPC) is angry that a reporter dared to question him about his bid for the supply of anti-malaria drugs to the Ministry of Health.
“The reporter, incredibly, demanded information on why the company’s bid was so much higher than IPA’s,” Ramroop said in a statement yesterday.
There were only two tenders opened for the supply of the drugs on Tuesday. The bid from International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA) was $32,730,400. New GPC’s bid was for $261,568,442. It meant that New GPC’s price was $228,838,042 more than IPA’s.
Ramroop accused Stabroek News of “seeking to malign his company. He described the article that reported on the high bid as a “malicious” article.
Dr. Ramroop, in the statement, claimed that he was contacted by a reporter attached to Stabroek News at approximately 18:22h on Tuesday.

New GPC CEO, Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop

He said that it is highly unusual for a newspaper to call and question a bidder or its representative after working hours on the day of a bid submission.
Mr. Ramroop is also the head of Guyana Times, a newspaper he manages and TVG Channel 28, a television station he acquired from Anthony Vieira.
Yesterday, Editor-in-Chief of Kaieteur News, Adam Harris, said that he found it strange that Ramroop who says he owns a newspaper…the Guyana Times…would find it unusual that a reporter would call after hours. His reporters have called people at odd hours.
“Anybody in the media business would know that habitually, reporters in the course of duties would contact officials for information. Invariably, this can happen after hours. The job of a reporter is 24 hours per day because news occurs at any time.”
New GPC, through its parent company, Queens Atlantic Investments Inc (QAII), in responding yesterday to the report in the Stabroek News on the bids’ opening by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) on Tuesday, said that the contact was unusual.
Stabroek News, in its report of the bids’ opening, said that it contacted Ramroop, for an explanation about the difference in the New GPC’s bid price.
According to the newspaper, Ramroop first said that the “person responsible for preparation of tender documents was not available and that Stabroek News should call today during working hours. A few minutes later, Ramroop called the newspaper and declined to respond to the question and instead levelled accusations against the reporter in a hostile manner.”
Ramroop, Stabroek News said, accused the reporter and by extension the newspaper of “teaming up” against him and of working for IPA and “looking for a scandal story.”

Evade
Stabroek News’ Editor-in-Chief, Anand Persaud, responding to Ramroop, is quoted as saying that Dr. Ramroop’s allegations were outrageous and a clear attempt to evade answering important questions about procurement. “Persaud said that grave misgivings continue to swirl around the procurement practices of the government –particularly in relation to drug purchases – and that New GPC has further contributed to this by declining to answer questions.”
Yesterday, New GPC, in the statement criticizing the Stabroek News report, said that the tender was advertised for 10 anti-malarial products and that New GPC submitted its bid within the designated time frame.
“The tender was specific, requesting a specific type and quantity of items. The company was guided by the specificity of products requested and outlined in the bid document.”

Not so late…
“At this juncture the bidder cannot and should not comment on the bid since it is in the domain of the National Tender Board. In any event, there is no way the bidder would know of the particulars of a competing bid and hence cannot comment on any pricing discrepancy or any other pertinent matter.”
He accused Stabroek News of “just trying to sensationalise an otherwise rather humdrum report. Ramroop stated, “Why drag me in to compare my bid to another I couldn’t possibly know about?”
Ramroop believed that his company is being singled out for “vindictive attacks” by both Stabroek News and Kaieteur News. He said since his establishment of Guyana Times in 2008 the two companies persistently and viciously attacked his company.
He noted that representatives of his company were present at the opening of the bid and observed 23 separate tenders being opened but none of the others received prominent coverage as New GPC did.
“There were variations in the other categories of bids…but New GPC was singled out, why?”
Ramroop claimed that Stabroek News is on a “mission to destabilize his company” as it is not the first time such issues have surfaced.
Ramroop refused to admit that his bid had the largest variance against the other bid. While the other bids did have variances, none matched that submitted by New GPC.
“They’ve reported before on the issue of substandard and counterfeit drugs. Why weren’t their questions undermining the tender board directed to the IPA? New GPC is not some fly-by-night company. We conduct our business professionally and we will not be goaded to undermine the bidding process,” Ramroop protested.
Ramroop said that his company has the “utmost respect” for the Tender Board and the tender process as they have always acted professional in evaluating bids.
According to Ramroop, New GPC is one of four local and international pre-qualified suppliers of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to the Ministry of Health and Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
The company is also the recipient of the largest sum of money from Central Government. Through sole tendering, something that the Auditor General has criticised in numerous annual reports, the New GPC has received billions of dollars from the government.

Media’s responsibility
In recent years, the procurement of drugs by government has come under intense scrutiny with New GPC at the center of criticisms.
There have been questions about the costs of the drugs and whether Guyana was getting value for its dollars.
The independent press, including Kaieteur News, has come under attack by the New GPC, via several court actions.
According to Glenn Lall, the Publisher of Kaieteur News, yesterday, surely businesses bidding for Government contracts should not have problems responding to media questions.
“Clearly if there is such a disparity in the prices, there will be questions. It would not be unthinkable that people will be wondering if there have been similar pricing policies as exposed on this occasion, when the New GPC was the beneficiary of sole sourcing.”