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Govt.’s drug purchasing system again queried
‘Recent ad highly misleading’ – Former Auditor General
Government’s controversial system of purchasing drugs has come under the spotlight again.
This time, the Ministry of Health has moved to shortlist contractors, but the very advertisement itself has raised eyebrows because of the billions of dollars that are at stake.
Former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran
On Tuesday, in the state-owned Guyana Chronicle, the Ministry of Health in the “Invitation for Prequalification”, said the firms would be charged with delivering both medicines and medical supplies.
“The Ministry of Health through the Government of Guyana has received funding in its national budget, and it intends to apply part of the proceeds of fund to payments under the prequalification process for contracts for supply and delivery of the following: Pharmaceuticals/Other Medical Supplies/Consummables For The Period 2014-2016.”
According to former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran, the advertisement by this very statement is misleading the public. The Ministry’s budget for 2014 to 2016 has not even yet been tabled or approved.
“So how could you say that you have received funding? This is highly misleading.”
Another strange fact is that Government only sought to advertise the process in the Guyana Chronicle despite the regulations making it clear that any invitations for pre-qualifications must be published prominently.
The Procurement Act, which governs how state contracts are awarded, has made it clear:
“A procuring entity shall solicit invitations to prequalify by causing an invitation to prequalify to be published in newspapers of wide circulation and posted in public places. Such solicitations shall reach the area impacted by the procurement.”
It is no secret that among the dailies, Kaieteur News and Stabroek News are more widely circulated than the Guyana Chronicle.
According to Goolsarran, prequalification of suppliers helps in the awarding of contracts, as it reduces the administrative burdens associated. It would reduce the need of going to tender each and every time that a demand is there for drugs and other critical supplies. However, he insists, the process on how the prequalification system works must be followed.
Government’s drug purchases to the tune of billions, for the Ministry of Health and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), have been under Parliamentary scrutiny for a number of years now, after it was found that one company, with close ties to former President Bharrat Jagdeo, received the bulk of the contracts.
Other local suppliers have accused Government of unfairly singling out New GPC, a company reportedly owned by Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, Jagdeo’s close friend, as the beneficiary.
Prior to 2010, the Jagdeo administration, under what is known as sole sourcing procurement, ordered that New GPC would be the preferred company for the supplies of pharmaceuticals.
In 2010, a prequalification system was used to select New GPC, MedPharm and international suppliers. There were severe criticisms, too, over the process and whether it was fair.That award expires at the end of this year.
According to the Auditor General’s Report of 2011, New GPC received a whopping 80 per cent of the contracts to supply. Last year, that entity was awarded over $1.1B or 70% of the drugs contracts for the GPHC.
At the Health Ministry, of the $2.7B budgeted for drugs and other supplies, New GPC received $1.87B or 68%.
There have also been questions over the handling, accounting and delivery of drugs in a timely manner, and criticisms of the fact that up to late last year, Government was paying New GPC to store pharmaceuticals it was delivering, in one of its properties.
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