PRESIDENT David Granger is currently studying the findings and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) report into the unauthorised disclosure of information on the procurement of pharmaceuticals at the Ministry of Public Health.The report, which was compiled by Commissioner Winston Cosbert, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Ret’d) and dated December 12, 2016, has recommended that Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Public Health, Trevor Thomas, be fired and that there be a major shake-up of the Materials and Management Unit (MMU), including the dismissal of an office assistant.
Last Thursday, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, when questioned about what action would be taken in light of the findings and recommendations, told reporters at a post-cabinet press briefing that “His Excellency the President is studying the recommendations and findings of that report and I am certain will act accordingly in due course, in his own deliberate time and judgment.”
It was recommended that Thomas be removed due to “his inability to effectively carry out the mandate of the ministry.” The report said Thomas was “willingly evasive and deceptive in his testimony” when questioned by the Board of Inquiry. It was reported that the Permanent Secretary had made inconsistent and deceptive statements during his testimony before the board.
Thomas, a career public servant, had been employed at the Ministry of Public Health between 2012 to August 2015 as the ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary, but was on September 1, 2015, appointed Permanent Secretary to the said ministry. He had served as PS at several other ministries, as well as the Teaching Service Commission.
Meanwhile, the commission has recommended that the Deputy Permanent Secretary, Colette Adams, be “censured for authorising advance payment on a contract without first perusing the contract.”
The explanations provided by Adams were deemed unsatisfactory by the Board and “the Board recommends disciplinary actions that are commensurate to the level of breach or neglect in the performance of her duties.” Additionally, the commission has recommended that Chetwin Felix, Principal Personnel Officer within the Ministry of Public Health, be trained in personnel and office procedures, noting that his demeanour was “adversarial” and he was “very evasive in providing answers to questions put to him.”
It was also recommended that the contract of Finance Manager, Sandra Singh, should not be considered for renewal. “She paid a supplier without seeing the contract for the transaction. Being an experienced person in that particular department, it was prudent for her to have first advised the Deputy Permanent Secretary Adams, or object to such irregular practice, given the fact that Singh is acquainted with the Government Financial Regulation.”
Singh is responsible for the Audit Report, signing off payment vouchers and donor funds. She told the commission that part of the system relates to payment of suppliers and is based on the contractual agreement and noted that if the contract stipulates 30 per cent advance payment, then the Ministry of Public Health is required to pay 30 per cent. She said too that if there is an addendum, then it must be included before payment can be made. It was discovered that the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) was in the practice of awarding contracts to suppliers of pharmaceuticals, services and products, though they were not authorised to distribute same. 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.