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CDC, Health Ministry grilled at PAC over missing details in COVID-19 supplies contracts
Kaieteur News – Members of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) faced a series of questions when they appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday. The questions were in relation to nine contracts that were highlighted in a performance audit.
PAC member and Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Gail Teixeira raised the issue with CDC and a team from the Ministry of Health who were present at the meeting. Teixeira noted that key information was missing from the CDC contracts set for the delivery of COVID-19 supplies.
She pointed out, “What I find strange is that contracts were done that did not abide with the procurement laws…these contracts are missing with key elements including date for delivery, a performance date and so on. There were no penalty clauses.” Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health Malcolm Watkins sought to answer the question.
He said, “The general information that we got from the persons that managed this period is that because of the circumstances of the COVID-19 period, they were forced to be lenient with the delivery periods.”
Teixeira noted that nonetheless that this issue being raised by the Auditor General in the report had to do with why the contracts lacked key details. The Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs noted that the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) has standard guidelines for sourcing goods. As such, she said she finds it strange that documents were done in a manner that could result in wide procurement losses.
The CDC panel and Ministry of Health team before the PAC on Monday
Teixeira also flagged the late and non-delivery delivery of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) even though, large sums of money was paid for them. Watkins responded, “we cannot fully say that the pandemic was only reason for the late delivery of the supplies at different times in the pandemic there were some other challenges…”
Also in response to the question, CDC Director, Colonel Ret’d Nazrul Hussain noted there was a global shortage in PPE which affected the supply chain locally. Pressed on the issue as to why the contracts lacked key details, the CDC said he could not give an exact reason except that it could be an oversight by the staff in preparing the documents. He noted that when he took over the CDC, his predecessor as well as the other accounting staffers who would have drafted the contracts left the agency.
The CDC was previously investigated by the Audit Office of Guyana in an audit that flagged mismanagement of the distribution of COVID-19 supplies. Focusing on the period March to August 2020, the Audit Office had investigated the more than $1 billion spent by the Public Health Ministry and the CDC to buy COVID-19 equipment and supplies.
For instance, Auditor General Deodat Sharma had documented in his report that there is no provision in the Procurement Act of 2003 for emergency public procurement. According to the Auditor General, public tendering is mandatory. Despite this, the Auditor General noted that 18 contracts valued at over $424 million were awarded by the Public Health Ministry and CDC, before approval was received from NPTAB.
However, it was explained by then CDC Director General, Kester Craig that as a matter of urgency, efforts were made to expedite the purchase of these items to meet the need for Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), which arose due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A similar explanation was forthcoming from the then Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, who explained to auditors that with reports of the Coronavirus being contracted in humans and spreading rapidly from China to other neighbouring Caribbean countries at a fast rate, Guyana was put in a state of readiness before it could spread to Guyana.
“Subsequent to a meeting held in this regard, a list of equipment and medical supplies were put together to be procured immediately for the Georgetown Public Hospital in order for them to be prepared for such case. As such, the Ministry had its Procurement Department carry out a procurement process in order to ascertain which suppliers had these items readily available on ground to be delivered immediately,” they noted in the report.
- Civil Defence Commission (CDC), COVID-19, Gail Teixeira, Health Ministry, Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs
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