— pharmaceutical companies have not satisfied contractual obligations
— Ministry of Public Health breached procurement, management processes

THE Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has been in the practice of awarding contracts to suppliers of pharmaceuticals, services and products, though they were not authorised to distribute same.This, according to a report into the alleged unauthorised disclosure of information by staff on the malpractice and mismanagement in the procurement of pharmaceuticals at the ministry.
The report compiled by retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Winston Cosbert, noted that the procurement and management processes by which the Health Ministry awards contracts for pharmaceuticals, services and supplies to bidders, were not adhered to in many cases.
The Board of Inquiry established to conduct the investigation and submit the report to Cabinet found that companies awarded contracts to provide supplies though not authorised to so do include Caribbean Medical Supplies Inc., which was awarded a contract to supply HIV Rapid Unigold Test kits, and Meditron Inc., for the supply of four haematology analysers.
In the case of Meditron Inc., they received full payment and to date they have not satisfied their contractual obligations under the agreement.
As such, the contract signed between the Ministry of Public Health and Meditron Inc. should be taken before the Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, with a view to “instituting legal proceedings, since it was revealed that the entity failed to honour their[its] contractual obligation under the terms of the contract.”
Additionally, Contract # MMU10-2015-P6 was signed between the Ministry of Public Health and Caribbean Medical Supplies Inc. for an agreed value of $70, 843, 202 on 100 per cent payment on receipt of goods; however, the money was paid and the items were not delivered.
Additionally, it has been recommended that the letter of authorisation produced by suppliers be certified and substantiated before contracts can be awarded.
The CoI recommended that a criminal investigation be launched to determine the authenticity of the letter produced by Caribbean Medical Supplies Inc., with a view to instituting criminal charges.
It was also noted that contracts are not properly drafted as well as the non-publishing of some contracts. It was observed too that there is no monitoring of suppliers to ensure they fulfil their contractual obligations.
That aside, the report pointed to incidents of unauthorised disclosures of information to suppliers. That action resulted in the very suppliers calling the Minister of Public Health, at the time Dr George Norton, and making requests to supply pharmaceuticals they were told were out of stock. The shortage of pharmaceuticals was not made public.
“Supplier Edwin Mc Koon, President of Western Scientific Company Limited, called Mortrez Lindore on several occasions enquiring about contracts that were not advertised,” the report stated, while noting too that another staff Nadiola Roach, Stores Attendant Procurement Department at the Materials Management Unit (MMU) reported that Kandasie Aaron, Office Assistant, was seen texting vital information to Mc Koon. Roach reported the matter to Permanent Secretary Trevor Thomas who took no action.
“Lindore subsequently took photographs of WhatsApp conversations between Mc Koon and Aaron to the Permanent Secretary, Deputy Permanent Secretary and the Principal Personnel Officer and she was transferred without any investigation being conducted. Aaron was not authorised to speak or give any information on behalf of the MoPH,” the CoI determined.

UNSAVOURY RELATIONSHIP
From all indications, Mc Koon and Aaron were involved intimately with each other. In a letter sent to the President’s Office and received on October 14, 2016, a “concerned employee” wrote: “Attached are some pictures of text messages between Mr Edwin Mc Koon and Ms Khandasie Aaron from the Procurement Department confirming they are having a personal relationship. During this time, according to reliable sources, Mr Mc Koon received four flash drives with information about past prices used in tenders by all bidders, local and international.”
The letter writer contends that the files were given to Mc Koon directly during his “many visits” to Guyana. “Some information was sent through DHL as well,” the letter stated.
“After receipt of this information, there are several tenders (MMU CPTL 05-2016, MMU 29 2016 p1) which Mr Mc Koon boasted during his last visit he is sure to win with his new found information.”
However, it was stated that divulging information at the Public Health Ministry seems to be a “normal practice,” which resulted in the dismissal of former Permanent Secretary Leslie Cadogan and Head of Procurement Department, Prakash Sookdeo.
It was also discovered during the inquiry that the Ministry of Public Health has no mechanism in place to identify the unathorised disclosure of price-sensitive information. This,despite the fact that control mechanisms exist in the Procurement Act,Chapter 73:05,Section 55.
“The MoPH became aware that price-sensitive information was divulged by Aaron through Lindore’s reporting to the permanent secretary, deputy permanent secretary and principal personnel officer of the MoPH and producing photographs of WhatsApp conversations between Mc Koon and Aaron. Aaron was transferred to another department without any investigation conducted.”
Despite the aforementioned challenges, the CoI determined that the public procurement procedure is one that leads to competition and fairness.
“There is no evidence that the integrity of the system is compromised,” the report stated.
But while the public procurement procedure has not been compromised, it was found that the management system in the procurement of pharmaceuticals and other items are flawed; and that the staff at the Materials Management Unit are untrained and unqualified to fill the job requirements at the said department.

NOT EFFECTIVE
“The permanent secretary and deputy permanent secretary are not effectively supervising the Procurement Department. Under the organisational chart of the ministry, the deputy permanent secretary is responsible for the Procurement Department; however, this position is assumed by the permanent secretary.”
Additionally, it was observed that senior officials of the ministry are not in the habit of writing subordinates in relation to infractions committed, which has resulted in gross disrespect.
Other issues discovered during the inquiry includes the non-appointment of a chief pharmacist within the MoPH for a number of years, and as a result, the CoI recommended that the remuneration package for pharmacists should be examined adequately by the Government, with a view to attracting more pharmacists within the ministry.
Moreover, it was recommended that all pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical suppliers be registered with the Food and Drugs Department and this should form part of the criteria in the bidding documents; a department should be established within the Public Health Ministry to monitor the finalisation of contracts and the Board calls for the Attorney General’s office to review the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations, with the view to amending the said legislation to include blood, blood products, medical devices, improvement of technology and to cover certain classes of drugs.
The Food and Drugs Act and Regulations do not give the department the authority to regulate blood, blood products and certain medical equipment. Reagents and electronic documentation as it relates to dossiers are supplied by importers for pharmaceuticals (drugs).
It was also observed that there are no cohesive working relationships within the hierarchy of the ministry, and as a result, things are being done in isolation.
Meanwhile, no preliminary testing on pharmaceuticals are done at the Supply Chain Management Complex (SCMC) and items procured by the ministry and items donated by local organisations and non-governmental organisations, are being stored together at the SCMC.
Expired products are being disposed of at the SCMC without proper documentation being prepared and without any one from the audit office and the internal auditors being present.
“Items which are shown to be in stock in the Management Accounting System (MAS) cannot be found physically; no coherent or valid explanation is given for such discrepancy,” the Cosbert report added
The Board of Inquiry was commissioned in November, 2016, to advise the State on the veracity of the allegations of unauthorised disclosure of information and on the allegations of mismanagement and malpractices in the procurement of pharmaceuticals at the Ministry of Public Health.