The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) was again cleared of any involvement in the purchase of the more than $630M in “emergency pharmaceutical supplies” for the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) when the matter came up in the National Assembly for further scrutiny.

Of the lot, Ansa McAL was expected to receive $605.9M for the supply of the emergency pharmaceutical supplies. Four months after the matter was ventilated in the House, Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira on Friday questioned Finance Minister Winston Jordan on how GPHC, acting in violation of the Procurement Act, was allowed to issue payments to McAl, approximately to the tune of $100M.

In asking the question on behalf of her colleague Bishop Juan Edghill, Teixeira pointed out that the House in July, 2017 by way of a written response from the Finance Minister, was informed that GPHC’s request for a waiver of the Procurement Act (S 28C) to purchase the $605.9M in emergency supplies from Ansa McAL was not approved. It was on this basis, she questioned how GPHC was able to proceed to award the tender to Ansa McAL and to proceed to make payments in violation of the Procurement Act and financial rules.

In response, Minister Jordan stated that: ‘There was no involvement of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) up to the time when GPHC engaged Ansa McAl to supply drugs and medical supplies.’
He said NPTAB only received a request for single sourcing on March 1, 2017 by which time Ansa McAl was already engaged. ‘NPTAB never give subsequent approval for this engagement, so I cannot say on what authority GPHC was able to make payments,’ Minister Jordan told the House.

The Opposition Chief Whip had also sought to determine whether any action was taken by the Finance Minister or NPTAB with respect to the multi-million dollar drug purchase which was in clear violation of the laws and was told none at the moment.

However, the Finance Minister noted that the matter has already engaged the attention of the Auditor General and the Public Procurement Commission (PPC). He said actions by the relevant ministers of government would be based on the findings and recommendations of these two bodies. PPC, in its report, has cleared the Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence, and NPTAB of being integrally involved in the purchase. The blame was laid at the feet of GPHC.

But from all indications, the Opposition Chief Whip was not satisfied with the responses given, and further questioned why GPHC was allowed to issue payments although it had violated the Procurement Act.
“We are aware that out of the $605M that was awarded over $100M was already paid to the company (Ansa McAL), how could the ministry release funds of that quantum without the Ministry of Finance budget office, and others who monitor expenditure, unaware of such an expenditure?’ Teixeira questioned.

Minister Jordan, in response, noted that GPHC is a corporation that receives an annual subvention from the Government of Guyana via the Consolidated Fund. He said the funds are expected to be utilised in accordance with the existing financial laws. “The question was asked but I cannot say how they spent the $100M without actually getting the approval,” Minister Jordan said but committed to having further clarity on the situation.

In July, Minister Jordan had informed the National Assembly that NPTAB’s procedures are not waived, and were not waived when GPHC had approached it for single sourcing earlier in the year. “The Board would take into account the most appropriate method of procurement as prescribed under the Procurement Act 2003, applying/recommending, in the first instance Open Tendering which is mandatory. The other methods are used when the appropriate conditions apply,” he had explained.

Other procedures include Restricted Tendering, Request for Quotations, and in the case of an emergency or in order to avoid catastrophic event – Single Sourcing. Notably, the minister in his response, named 14 instances when approvals were granted based on requests from GPHC. It noted too that four requests were denied by the NPTAB. Those requests had to do with the procurement of the more than $630M in emergency drugs and medical supplies.

Top sources at the Public Health Ministry had told the Guyana Chronicle that it was the hospital’s former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Alan Johnson, and the Finance Director, Ronald Charles, who teamed up to sole source the drugs. Johnson was fired in June, 2017 by the GPHC Board of Directors following “a series of lapses,” which included the embarrassment of the Corporation before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on May 29.

It is alleged that the Finance Director wrote the NPTAB Chairman requesting that an Emergency Supplies Bid Document be cancelled. In that letter, which was allegedly signed by the then CEO (Johnson), Charles sought to have the emergency drugs sole-sourced. Charles, the Guyana Chronicle was told, proceeded to compile a list of the critical drugs which was subsequently given to four suppliers: Ana McAl, New GPC, Health 2000 and Chirosyn Discoveries, for the submission of quotations based on the document.

Attempts, the source said, were made to have Minister Lawrence sign off on the documents but she had reportedly declined, noting that there was an established system to be followed. According to the source, it was after the drugs were delivered at the end of February that a letter was sent to the NPTAB requesting that payments be made to the four suppliers.