Alleged victimisation by Food and Drug Director…Health Ministry investigates businessman’s claims

Nov 25, 2016 News

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– insists there are no sacred cows; victimisation will not be condoned

“There are no sacred cows and we will not allow persons to be victimised,” said Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, yesterday, as he responded to questions about allegations of victimisation being meted out to Chief Executive Officer of Sueria Manufacturing Inc., Frank Sanichara, at the hands of Food and Drug Director, Marlan Cole.
Sanichara, accompanied by other business-oriented individuals, on Wednesday staged a picketing exercise on the Vlissengen Road parapet adjacent to the Ministry of the Presidency to highlight their claims of victimisation by the Food and Drug Department.
Among Sanichara’s claims is that although he has been complying with many requirements insisted upon by Cole, there have been occasions that he (Cole) has rejected the initial requested requirements and insisted upon others instead.
This behaviour, Sanichara is convinced, constitutes a deliberate tactic to negatively impact his business, since he is often unable to clear containers of perishables in a timely manner.
Sueria Manufacturing Inc. first opened its doors in May 2014, and it has been one year since Sanichara has been experiencing troubles with the Food and Drug Director.
Ahead of Wednesday’s picket, Sanichara said that he had written President David Granger to amplify his concerns with the Food and Drug Department. He said that he had previously written to the Ministers of Business and Public Health, but it was not until he wrote to the President that he was contacted on the matter.
It was essentially the lack of action to address the state of affairs that prompted the picketing exercise, and led to the streamlining of plans for yet another on the Brickdam, Georgetown lawn of the Ministry of Public Health.
Minister Norton, when questioned about his knowledge of the situation, yesterday disclosed that while he was not aware of the protest action, he was in receipt of Sanichara’s correspondence, as was the President. He revealed yesterday that he was instructed by President Granger to examine Sanichara’s complaints of victimisation and abuse by the Director of the Food and Drug Department.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon, at yesterday’s post Cabinet press briefing corroborated that an investigation into the matter was underway.
Minister Norton said that acting on the instructions of the President, he had made contact with Sanichara to inform him that his Ministry, which has responsibility for the Food and Drug Department, was in the process of examining the complaints. Added to this, Minister Norton said that he intimated to Sanichara that he will be invited, along with Cole, to attend a meeting aimed at reaching a solution to the situation.
This all happened before the picketing exercise, Minister Norton said.
“I assured him (Sanichara) we do not want to be guilty of rushing, and it (an investigation) will take some time…but in spite of that, they still had the protest,” Minister Norton noted. He revealed yesterday that as part of the process, officials of the Public Health Ministry will be meeting with the Director of Food and Drug Department on Monday.
Cole is expected to be in attendance at the said meeting, Minister Norton noted, as he revealed that the Director is answerable to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and the operation of the CMO falls under the ambit of the Minister of Public Health. There are reports that Cole has claimed that his function is not governed by the Public Health Minister, but, according to Minister Norton, this can only be the case if Cole is a Minister himself.
Minister Norton speculated, based on some reports brought to his attention that “we might have a personality problem, and that is something that this government can ill-afford to have, so this has to be addressed, and we have no qualms about addressing it.”
“If somebody claims every time they approach the Food and Drug Department they are told that the reason for holding up their container changes, then we have a problem on our hands. We have a problem on our hands when importers, who contribute so much to the economy, are saying that they were rudely spoken to, they are chased out of rooms and doors were slammed in their faces and persons who are connected to that agency (Food and Drug Department) are claiming Ministers can’t give them orders, then we have a major problem,” Minister Norton asserted.
He, however, noted that there are stringent rules that are in place that affect all importers. This, according to the Minister, has over the years resulted in many importers, aside from Sanichara, having their containers held up because of tardy responses from suppliers.
According to the Minister, once persons decide on importing products, in the first instance, they must ensure that they are importing from an authorised distributor.
“If the distributor is not authorised you can bring in counterfeit products and you have to be careful with that…Because if it is counterfeit, they are unable to obtain authentic certificates of free sale for products,” related Minister Norton, as he recalled that “there was a case where a company claimed a baby formula was manufactured in France, and it was later found to be really and truly manufactured in China.”

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