Health bond fiasco…Sub-Committee recommends Minister publicly apologise– Trotman

Aug 12, 2016 News

Following the appointment of the Cabinet Sub-Committee to probe the controversial medical

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, during the briefing yesterday.

supplies bond and the related contract, the Chairman of that committee, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman, has completed his report, and will soon be presenting it to President Granger.
Trotman told media operatives during the Post-Cabinet Press Briefing yesterday morning at the Ministry of the Presidency, that it has been recommend that the Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, offer a public apology over statements that he made in the National Assembly last Monday about the payment for services of the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (New GPC) and about the new storage bond already being in operation.
Previous reports have indicated that the Minister misled the National Assembly, and by extension, the nation, since this publication was able to ascertain that no drugs or pharmaceutical supplies were being stored in the bond.
“We are recommending that in view of the statements made by the honourable Minister of Public Health and based on his explanations – which we have accepted, that he gives perhaps, a public apology, and to explain that his statements were in the context of the advice he had received, and we are advising that the press be given all relevant documents, including correspondence between the Government of Guyana and New GPC Inc; copies of the lease and photographs that we have,” Trotman stated.
Minister Trotman had 48 hours to compile the report with the help from the Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo and the Minister of State, Joseph Harmon. A review of the contract was one of the recommendations made in the report, Trotman disclosed yesterday.
“We are recommending that the contract be reviewed. Cabinet may choose the Honourable Attorney General to do the review of the contract for the lease of the bond in Sussex Street. Thirdly, Cabinet recommended a greater role for the Ministry of Public Infrastructure where buildings are leased, bought or constructed for or on behalf of the government of Guyana,” Trotman said.
Another recommendation, he said, is for the Government to have its own facility. He stated that the Administration envisages a bond in every region and another in the county of Demerara, in addition to the one that currently exists at Diamond, East Bank Demerara.
Meanwhile, questions were being raised about the image of the administration, given the fact that there was much controversy in the past with the former regime – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) – resorting to single sourcing for health-related services/supplies.
Minister Trotman replied: “Well I don’t think you can confuse the sole sourcing of drugs and essential products for several hundred thousand people with the procurement of one building. The two are not comparable, if I may put it that way.”
He added that given the ‘circumstances,’ the Minister of Health had to enter into a contract as soon as possible.
“We believed that sole sourcing was the best way forward. However, in Cabinet, the discussion went along the way of Government having its own facility, and that is one of the recommendations in the Sub-Committee’s report.”
He added that the original contract that was presented to cabinet was for 10 years, however, cabinet brought it down to three years with the belief that the State must move towards having its own facility.
The Minister said that a tour of the bond was conducted by the Sub-Committee and he is satisfied that the building is suitable for drug storage – which he added, has met the World Health Organisation (WHO) requirements “in terms of temperatures, cold storage, security and so forth.”
He explained that the government simply cannot afford the price being asked by the New GPC for storage when the company did not previously charge for drug storage fees under the last government.
He also offered clarification that a security deposit was only handed over to the company in July, while the building was bought in March. He said the government had nothing to do with that purchase and added that it was merely a coincidence that the security deposit and sale price of the building were both $25 million.

1 thoughts on “Health bond fiasco…Sub-Committee recommends Minister publicly apologise– Trotman”

Kassem_B August 12, 2016 at 9:02 am

Miss- leading the House is a serious House matter and not a public apology matter

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