Luncheon made a mistake

Oct 18, 2014 News

– Tender board and Ministry of Health now notified about drug prequalification

Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon said, that he made a mistake when he said that all the requisite information pertaining to the award for the supply of drugs, had been forwarded from the Office of the President to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) and the Ministry of Health.
The New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (GPC) has now “legally” been given the go ahead to be the nation’s sole prequalified drug supplier.
The New GPC is owned by Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop who happens to be the best friend of former President, Bharrat Jagdeo.
Last week Luncheon was quizzed about claims made by the Ministry of Health and the NPTAB, that they had not been notified about the pre-qualification award of drugs.
Luncheon told reporters who attended his post cabinet weekly press briefing on Thursday, that following a press conference the previous week a review was done.
Soon after that review, Luncheon said that it was disclosed that the media reports were correct; that cabinet’s approval was not sent to the Tender Board. He said that oversight was immediately corrected.
“I regret the delay in the submission of the approval to the Tender Board as well as the misinformation that the document had been submitted when it was not,” Luncheon told the media. With the relevant document being transferred to the Tender Board and Ministry of Health, both Ansa McAl and the International Pharmaceutical Agency, can now move forward with their claims of discrimination in the award of the contract.
The two bidders have publicly spoken out about the award to New GPC. Trinidadian Conglomerate Ansa McAl has questioned the award.
Chief Executive Officer of International Pharmaceutical Corporation (IPA), Lloyd Singh, has moved to the courts for intervention. In his legal challenge to the Tender Board’s decision, he claims that the move by the Ministry was discriminatory of itself, or in its effect and decision.
He further argues that the decision by the Ministry was unconstitutional, in that it violated Article 149 and as such, has asked that the court orders the decision that New GPC be the sole prequalified supplier of drugs and medical supplies, null and void.
Singh wants the court to declare that the decision by the NPTAB, that the IPA did not satisfy the requirements, is unreasonable, unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect.
According to the court documents filed by IPA, the company is looking to have the court declare that the revised criteria set out by the Ministry, violates the constitution and as such has no legal effect.
The New GPC, ever since it was acquired by Ramroop in 1999, has been supplying the bulk of the drugs to the Ministry of Health and to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation for the past 15 years.
In defending the decision, Dr. Luncheon had told media operatives that the decision to award the contract to the New GPC was not tantamount to sole sourcing.
He said that the Tender Board picked New GPC from among seven companies that applied to be pre-qualified.
When asked if the criteria used to pre-qualify a company were not biased in favour of New GPC, Luncheon said, “The criterion is biased in favour of safety.”

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Luncheon made a mistake

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