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Former Reg.5 REO purchases drugs months before going to tender – PAC hears
Regional officials of the Regional Democratic Council of Region Five during the PAC meeting on Monday.
Kaieteur News – Former Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Ovid Morrison back in 2019 allegedly made purchase of medical drugs for the region months before he actually tendered for the supplies.
This was revealed on Monday during a sitting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). This violation was raised during the examination of records related to matters at the Region Five Regional Democratic Council as highlighted in the 2019 report of the Auditor General (AG). It should be noted that following Morrison’s departure as REO, the position was taken up by Genevieve Blackman who was just recently replaced by the new REO of Region Five Dwayne Adams. The three officials were on Monday present at the PAC meeting along with other regional officials.
In the AG’s report, it stated that upon examination of some 93 payment vouchers, it found, “thirty-one instances totalling $3.829M where the bill date was before the Requisition to Purchase (RTP) date. This is an indication that standard procedures were not followed.”
Highlighting the findings on Monday during the meeting was PAC member and Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, who asked “how did this happen, what was the process that allowed for this to happen?” Not answering the question directly, Former REO Blackman informed the meeting that the 31 instances as highlighted by the AG were in relation to the purchases of medical supplies.
She went on to say, “So we have the list of the 31 instances…like in the case of drugs and medical, for the first instance, the RTP date is the 6th of September 2019, but the bill date is the 10th February 2019.” Highlighting another instance, she said that the bill date for items was the 27 August 2019, and the RTP was the 27 of September, 2019.
Not getting a direct answer to his initial question, Minister Edghill went on to ask if the former Regional Health Officer (RHO) at the time or the current RHO can recall how this breach would have happened. It was disclosed at the meeting that the former RHO Dr. Desmond Nicholson was not present at the PAC meeting despite being contacted to make an appearance. The former REO Morrison was then asked if he can give an answer and he replied saying that it was the former RHO who can give account as to what had happened. Edghill then further asked whose signature was on the RTPs at the time and it was disclosed that it was the former REO and current Deputy Regional Executive Officer (DREO) Sherwyn Wellington. When asked if he can give account to the AG’s findings, Wellington told the PAC that “What I used to do is just assist in signing off the RTP when it comes to the region because it was so much that I would sign the RTP book and the REO would sign the PVs (payment vouchers), that is in some instances when he is not available.”
After listening to the exchange between the regional officials and Minister Edghill, Opposition Member of Parliament, Ganesh Mahipaul commented that the process in which the medical supplies were acquired was not right. “I think and I agree with comrade Edghill, it is not an issue that should be overlooked… This is clearly where the health services programme received items on the 10th of February, 2019 from suppliers and the preparation of documents to satisfy payment happened in September. And that is not right,” he said. Also speaking on the findings was PAC member and Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Gail Teixeira who said “The deeper we dig, the worse it gets in that what the Auditor General found.”
Teixeira stated that if the items were not available, or the hospital ran out, a request would have to be made for the items to be purchased or acquired. On that basis, the RDC would have to take the necessary steps in acquiring the items. “So there seems to be some disconnect, how could we pay and then making request to pay in September and the delivery of goods, so I think that the deeper we dig the worse it gets but clearly this is violation of administrative procedures to do with the purchases of drugs,” she raised.
The PAC member further mentioned that having found the wrongdoings and emphasizing that it is a total of 31 instances in which this happened, “I think this has to be flagged as a violation of the Procurement arrangements as well as a violation of the Administrative procedures in the region with regard to purchasing of drugs … so this is a repeated pattern by the region which I think needs further investigation.”
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