Latest update August 4th, 2026 12:30 AM
Cabinet blesses another US$7M drug contract
Less than three weeks before the May 11 polls, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon revealed that another billion dollar drug contract has been given Cabinet’s blessings.
Dr. Roger Luncheon
At his press conference which was held at the Office of the President yesterday, he said that Cabinet granted its “no objection” to a contract for the procurement of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for the Ministry of Health to the tune of $1.4B.
Just last week, Luncheon disclosed that Cabinet also granted its no-objection for the procurement of medical supplies for the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), at a cost of US$1.05M which is equivalent to $219.8M.
There was another award for which Cabinet granted its ‘no objection’. That was for drugs for the said hospital to the tune of $1.16B.
However, when asked to disclose the name of the preferred bidder for the health contracts, Dr. Luncheon said, “I generally have not used this occasion to either confirm or deny the identity of bidders.”
The supply of drugs to the GPHC and the Ministry of Health has been a hot topic in recent years after it was learnt that former President Bharrat Jagdeo and his administration during the 2000s created the conditions so that one particular company, New GPC, was receiving over 80 percent of the contracts which is equivalent to billions of dollars per year.
That company is led by Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, a close pal of former President Bharrat Jagdeo.
Other suppliers have been complaining bitterly about being sidelined with challenges raised to ensure that they are kept out.
Last year alone, drug contracts were estimated at over $5B.
The Public Accounts Committee, a Parliamentary oversight body, has expressed alarm over state auditor’s findings that drugs were not delivered on a number of occasions.
There have been accusations of drug prices being inflated also.
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