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Diamond, Kingston drug bonds to be upgraded
Following a commitment to stop the rental of private facilities to store drugs, Government said it plans to upgrade two existing storage facilities.
Minister of Finance Winston Jordan said that in the coming year, the Government will be advancing the improvement of its health infrastructure to strengthen and complement its delivery and expansion of services.
“We will aim to complete the construction of the Kingston bond and the upgrading of the bond in Diamond, to facilitate effective storage and distribution of drugs and medical supplies,” Jordan indicated.
The building on Sussex Street that attracted heavy criticism when Government decided to rent it under lucrative terms for the storage of drugs.
Government had faced three years of public criticism following a decision to rent a property for drug storage at Sussex Street, Albouystown. It is estimated that Government’s bill was $314.6M by the time they exited the building in August.
Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence had indicated that the Government would have stopped the rental of the bond in December, last, but that promise was not fulfilled until August.
The issue of the bond rental surfaced in 2016 when it was learnt that the $25M bond had been rented under very lucrative terms to businessman Larry Singh, during the tenure of former Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton.
The controversy intensified when it was discovered in late 2016 that the facility was merely storing items such as lubricants and condoms.
In June, Lawrence said that the Ministry of Public Health paid $264.5M to Linden Holding Inc. for the rental of the building between July 2016 and March 2018. That amount equates to $12.1M per month.
Further, Lawrence had explained that one of the main reasons for the continued rental of the bond was to store a CT – scanner valued at about US$90,000 ($1.8M). The scanner was a donation from RAD-AID International and the reason given for it being kept in storage was the delay in the completion of a room at the Bartica Hospital.
The Ministry had served a Notice of Quit dated October 2016 by then Permanent Secretary, Trevor Thomas. A reminder dated October 3, 2017 was sent by Thomas’ successor.
Lawrence explained that the Government was hoping to take the money used for the rental of the bond and reinvest it in the public health sector. The Minister had disclosed plans to build more bonds and expand the ones the Ministry has.
It was pointed out that at the cost of $25M, the Government could have built 12 bonds using the monies it paid to Singh.
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