Health Minister flip-flops on $90M New GPC payments

Jan 23, 2013 News

The Ministry of Health says that it has ceased paying the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (New GPC) tens of millions of dollars for the storing drugs at one of its bonds.

New GPC’s owner, Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop

New GPC’s head Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, time and again, had said that his company was providing free storage. No mention was made of the $1.5M monthly rent until it was raised in the Parliamentary committee.
Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who now has nothing to do with the Ministry of Health and with the Georgetown Public Hospital, has joined the attacks. He went on the television station owned by Ramroop to talk about free storage.
Health Minister Dr. Bheri Ramsaran also claimed that there was no rent paid, then he flip-flopped on the issue.
“Neither the government nor the Health Ministry has ever paid any rental fees for the storage of medicines (at the New GPC Bond).”
In the same breath he said, “Not wanting to lose the facility that we had, and in view of the need to continue storing and managing medication for Guyanese patients, the Guyana Government decided to accelerate the construction (of the Government bond) and we then had to take over the payment on monthly rents.”
Ramroop’s own newspaper noted, “The rent per month was just over $1 million and although the ministry had continued to utilize space at the Farm location after it took over, payments were still outstanding.”
Dr. Ramsaran then noted, “I am told that we now have complaints from the New GPC that we have not paid rent. We have been squatting without being good paymasters. I know that the Health Ministry and the Guyana Government sometimes owe other people and we need to put that in order.”
The Health Ministry now has a brand new Materials Management Unit (MMU) built for almost $500M, at Diamond, East Bank Demerara.
However, some amount of pharmaceuticals for the local hospitals are still being stored at the New GPC bond at Industrial Site, Ruimveldt – the former Sanata Textiles complex, Ramsaran has said.
The storage of drugs purchased by government has been the focus of Members of Parliament (MPs) over the past week after health officials disclosed that almost $100M was paid to New GPC for the use of a bond at Farm, East Bank Demerara between late 2007 and December 2012.

Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo

MPs were curious to know how the company which has been controversially awarded billions of dollars on drugs contracts for years could also be paid $1.5M monthly for storing it.
The disclosures have caused the owners of New GPC, who also control the Guyana Times, and two Government Ministers, to attack private media houses which have reported on the purchases. Most of the attacks were directed at Kaieteur News and Stabroek News.
New GPC/Guyana Times and its parent company, Queens Atlantic Investments Incorporated, admittedly have close ties to former President, Bharrat Jagdeo.

KN not invited
On Monday, the Health Minister paid a visit to the new bond in Diamond and to the one at New GPC’s Industrial Site location at Farm. However, the private media were not invited. The Minister’s office could not immediately explain yesterday why an invitation was not sent to Kaieteur News.
With regards to funding for the bond, Minister Ramsaran noted that the realisation of the bond is due to contributions by donor agencies who gave a total of about $375M. The Guyana Government contributed $120M.
Over the past few months, health officials including its ministers, in justifying its use of New GPC for contracts, had argued that free storage had played a part. There was never any mention of the hefty $1.5M being paid monthly.

Nothing is free
Meanwhile, in a clear attempt to divert from the $90M payments, the Minister and Dr. Ramroop, through the latter’s newspaper, admitted that monies were paid in rental…though not for the Ruimveldt bond of New GPC. Kaieteur News was blasted for being wrong about the location.
During the visit, Ramsarran accused both Kaieteur News and Stabroek News of fighting for market shares.
The Minister even attacked the Auditor General for his report and said that it was his government that resurrected them annually.
Parliament’s largest opposition group, A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), earlier this week said it will be asking a special committee to investigate Government’s decision to unfairly grant New GPC billions of dollars in drugs contracts under unclear circumstances.

Health Minister, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran

Other importers said that they are now breaking their silence, after being sidelined.
In early 2010, the Cabinet of Ministers, under former President Jagdeo, made a decision to allow New GPC, a company with which he reportedly has close ties, to be granted hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts.
It was the same year that New GPC may have failed to deliver $222M in drugs.
Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which examines the Auditor General’s annual report on how state funds are spent, was told last week that attempts are now being made – two years later – to determine how much New GPC did not deliver.
Health officials have admitted that they took no action to sanction New GPC. In 2011, the company also managed to be awarded almost 80% of the drug contracts.