Norton $12.5M drug bond fiasco…Possibility of fire, traffic congestion underscore need for Sussex St. bond

Aug 22, 2016 News

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– PM Nagamootoo, Trotman, Harmon
By: Kiana Wilburg
Even though an international report categorically states that the state-owned Diamond warehouse can store all of the nation’s drugs and supplies and even more, a Cabinet subcommittee is still insisting that the rental of a storage bond in Sussex Street is necessary.
The three-man committee consists of Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman and Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo.
Given the controversy surrounding the drug bond which is owned by Lawrence Singh of Linden holdings Inc., the team was expected to objectively investigate the matter and provide a report on its findings and recommendations.
Even though it acknowledges that the Diamond facility can indeed store drugs for the entire nation, the subcommittee said that there are other factors which must be considered. The sub-committee said it is not safe to have all of the nation’s drugs and medical supplies in one facility, in case of a fire or some natural disaster that can have calamitous consequences to the national health care system.
The sub-committee stated too that the location of the Diamond warehouse can affect distribution of medical supplies, given traffic congestion issues that are associated with the East Bank thoroughfare.
Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo said that the possibility of a fire and the issue of traffic congestion were just two of the many reasons considered for embracing the contract.

Nagamootoo noted that there was a visit to the Diamond facility and the Sussex Street Bond. He said that committee members who visited the Sussex Street bond were satisfied that it was suitable for use as provided for under the contract. He said that the members recommended that the bond be used until the Government is able to build an alternative facility.
“We are not justifying in a long-term sense that this is a facility that has long-term viability. We are saying use it because of the necessity that has emerged for a period by which time a new bond would be acquired.”
The Prime Minister said that when the bond proposal came to Cabinet initially, the issue of traffic congestion affecting the access to medical supplies at the Diamond facility was not raised. He said that it might be used as a rationalization for the continued use of the Sussex Street bond.
The First Vice President said what was advanced was the necessity of a new site , consequent upon the demand of NEW GPC for Government to either pay a rent for the facilities or take its drugs elsewhere.
Nagamootoo said that when Government made it clear that the NEW GPC was not going to be enjoying sole sourced contracts anymore and that “an era of competitiveness” is what is going to take over, “we were basically told to take our drugs and get lost.”
Nagamootoo was then asked if this was the case then why not store the drugs at the Diamond facility which, according to an international report, has the capacity to store all of the nation’s drugs and even more.
The Prime Minister said however that he could not comment on this.
Nagamootoo explained that he did not visit the facility. He made it clear that it was Trotman who visited the facility and was the one chairing the committee. The Prime Minister emphasized that he was just a member of the team.
“When the team visited, they reported that the Diamond facility was encumbered and that it couldn’t accommodate the additionally stocks. But I have since seen another report in the newspaper saying that the bond has space to accommodate 2300 pallets and the bond was only utilizing under 1600. If that is the case, then in spite of the contract being signed then it should not rule out a forensic scrutiny at Diamond facility…I would not rule out reassessment of the facility at Diamond.”
Nagamootoo was also asked why the committee did not address the fact that they gave a contract to someone who is inexperienced in the storage of drugs and pharmaceuticals. He said however that Government is not renting the contractor but the facility.
The state-owned Diamond warehouse which was established with international funding in March 2013 was expected to reduce the millions of dollars Government was losing over the years by renting other storage facilities.
This is according to a report that was prepared on by the Supply Chain Management System (SCMS).
The report notes that the construction of the state-of-the-art facility was funded by a collaboration of the Government of Guyana, the United States Government, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM).
The report even points out that the 31,000 square-foot facility not only has the capacity to store all the drugs for the nation but would even have extra storage space which could be leased by the Government.
Drafters of the report said that the revenue earned from the leasing of the storage space can even be used to fill other financing gaps in the public health system when needed.
According to the report, the Diamond warehouse is a fully-operational, climate-controlled, automated pharmaceutical–grade facility.
The construction of the facility was also intended to eliminate the incessant outsourcing for storage space for drugs and other pharmaceuticals.
The report also pointed out that Guyana is currently only utilizing in the facility, 1,365 available pallets (the base on which the drugs and medication are stored for easy movement). However, the storage facility has the potential to store 2,300 more pallet locations. The document proposes that Guyana can make approximately $70M with the leasing of those pallet locations.

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