Grave and astonishing accusations of a Minister

Mar 21, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
In her statement, Minister Volda Lawrence speaks about a conspiracy between employees of her Ministry, employees of GPHC and suppliers, to sabotage the public health system, to hold it at ransom and to supply expired and inferior drugs, costing the treasury billions and exposing the nation’s citizens to serious health perils. These are grave and astonishing accusations. It is unbelievable that the Government has not yet unleashed the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU), the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to investigate. Moreover, it is incumbent upon the Minister, to make public, the names of those involved in this malevolent plot.
The Minister contends that she acted pursuant to the Procurement Act. She must state upon what Section she relies. I know of no Section under which she can shelter. The Minister ordered the drugs for GPHC. However, GPHC, by law, is governed by a Board of Directors, whose functions it is to make such decisions. The Board appears not to have played any part in this saga. The available evidence clearly suggests that the Minister usurped the role and functions of the Board.
The Minister identifies three companies from which this $1.5B of drugs are to be procured. On what basis did the Minister handpick these three suppliers? The Minister compounds her dilemma by writing to NPTAB informing that she chose Ansa McAl to supply $606M worth of drugs. Again, no basis is provided for this unilateral act of the Minister. How did the Minister arrive at Ansa McAl? How did the Minister arrive at $606M? Was there an emergency need for such an extraordinary quantity of drugs?
The matter is exacerbated by the Minister accepting a gift on behalf of GPHC from Ansa McAl of two storage freezers to store the drugs purchased. What benefits will now accrue to Ansa McAl for these gifts? Did an offer of this gift made before and influenced the decision of the Minister to choose Ansa McAl as the supplier?
My information is that the remainder of the drugs is currently being stored at Ansa McAl’s storage bond, for which the Government is, again, paying. It begs the question, what use is being made of the bond at Sussex Street for which the Government is paying fourteen million dollars per month as rent? By the way, we were told, nearly a year ago, that Cabinet ordered the early termination of this rental agreement, what is the status of that decision?
Was it simply a decision to appease at the time? From whence did the monies come or, from where is the money coming for the payment of these drugs purchased? These are only some of the questions which must be answered. I cannot close without remarking that the Public Health Ministry has had two full-time Ministers manning the system since this Government took office, whose combined salaries amount to four times the salary earned by Minister Bheri Ramsarran, the only Minister in charge of that Ministry from December 2011 to May 2015. Yet, that Ministry has been plagued with one scandal after another over the last twenty months, with each scandal being more ignominious than its predecessor.
I note that the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) has signaled its intention to review “the procurement process” upon which Minister Lawrence embarked. However, this exercise will be manifestly inadequate to efficaciously address the multiple infractions committed in this ordeal. It requires an investigation and inquiry of a much more amplified scope. The Guyana Police Force, SOCU and/or a commission of inquiry appear better suited.
Anil Nandlall

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