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Ansa McAl has no reason to be peeved

Jul 30, 2014 Letters

Dear Editor,
It often amazes me what passes for news in Guyana. The Stabroek News somehow saw it fit to highlight the Trinidad and Tobago company, ANSA McAl’s, unsuccessful bid to become prequalified to supply medical drugs to the government’s health sector.
Not surprisingly, immediately following that, the Kaieteur News picked up on that and ran its own story about ANSA McAl being peeved. But at least KN had the shame to publish a letter questioning the bona fides of Ansa McAl.
It is a known fact that every Government in every country in the world seeks to protect its own local business community. It will therefore even pass laws to protect local investment as a whole. Further, every Government will first look for local contractors or suppliers, whether they are for products or services, to award contracts.
Indeed, Guyana and any country should welcome overseas investment, but such companies will have to at least make the necessary investments within Guyana and employ Guyanese nationals.
So why would a Trinidad company event want to bid to supply drugs in Guyana and supply them from Trinidad? Can a Guyanese company do likewise in Trinidad? I think not. In fact, for a Guyanese company to supply pharmaceuticals in Trinidad is impossible!! The same operation in Barbados and every other CariCom nation.
I recall not too long ago the Trinidad Prime Minister insisting, when her country was about to give funds for hurricane relief to two countries, that the contractors should be Trinis. She maintained her stance even when challenged. That was a time of disaster for the two countries. Did the American Government hire contractors from anywhere else but the US when it was ‘rebuilding’ Iraq after the war?
And this, like the Trinidad case, involved work being done in the country that was benefitting from the assistance.
So at one time certain media houses are opposed to Chinese workers in Guyana, claiming that every effort should be made to employ the local workforce. Now the Government identified a local company which actually meets the stated criteria for a prequalification process. And there’s still a problem, at least with some media houses.
And as a Guyanese, I see no  reason why a Trinidad company should be peeved at not having won a local bidding prequalification process, especially when that company did not meet the requirements in the first place.
Annalisa Ally

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