Govt. continues to rent costly Sussex St. drug bond

Apr 01, 2017 News

The Government of Guyana continues to rent the controversial Sussex Street drug bond at the same steep price. However, sources at the Ministry of Public Health say that more drugs and medical supplies are being stored there.
Last December, former Minister of Health, Dr. George Norton was able to prove that the bond was in use. However, mainly condoms, lubricants and umbilical cord clamps were being stored at the facility.
Boxes upon boxes of lubricants were seen, along with several cartons of umbilical cord clamps. All boxes had delivery dates of August this year. That was in the upper flat. The lower flat stored several pieces of equipment along with several empty refrigerators.
The Public Health Ministry, which is now being headed by Volda Lawrence, is claiming that the bond is in full use now. Officials say that a media visit is being planned for next week.
The Sussex Street property owned by the Linden Holdings Company is being rented at G$12.5 per month. Linden Holdings Company is owned by firearms dealer Lawrence Singh.
A three-year contract has been signed for use of the facility which has not been certified for the storage of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies in keeping with international standards set out by PAHO/WHO.
Just about $25M was paid in rental and security deposit for the period July to August 2016 as provided for in the Supplementary Financial Paper No. 1 of 2016, yet as of August 8, the building was empty of any pharmaceuticals and medical supplies and was not in a position to store any medicines or any other medical supplies as was claimed.
The drug bond fiasco has been one of the biggest scandals to hit the APNU+AFC coalition government so far.
President David Granger had set up a Cabinet sub-committee to review the matter. This Committee recommended that Dr. Norton apologize to the Speaker, which he did.
Government is still to prove a need for the bond.

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