FORMER Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton, who served under the A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU + AFC) administration, was on Tuesday slapped with a Misconduct in Public Charge by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) of the Guyana Police Force.
Dr. Norton was charged pertaining to his conduct in relation to the rental of the controversial Sussex Street Bond. He appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where he was not required to plead to the indictable charge, and was placed on $400,000 bail.
In December 2020, Auditor-General Deodat Sharma recommended that the Guyana Police Force conduct a thorough investigation into the rental of the bond by the then Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) under the former APNU+AFC government, and to institute charges where necessary.

The warehouse facility, situated at 29 Sussex Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, was rented from Lawrence “Larry” Singh at a cost of $12.5 million per month to serve as an offsite medical storage facility for the MoPH and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
The agreement for rental of the bond was signed by Larry Singh, on behalf of Linden Holding Inc. and then MoPH Permanent Secretary, Trevor Thomas for three years, from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019. The report highlighted that there was no evidence to conclude that the contract was advertised, which is a breach of Sections 10 (1) and 25 (1) of the Procurement Act of 2003.
Investigations conducted by SOCU also revealed that Dr. Norton, in 2016, instructed Thomas “not” to engage the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) with respect to the tender and/or any submission of any justification for the award of contract for the rental of the bond, in turn single sourcing the contract.

INSTRUCTED TO SIGN
It was also revealed that Dr. Norton instructed Thomas to prepare a Cabinet Memorandum for him to take to Cabinet for its deliberation on the matter, and that, thereafter, Thomas received a copy of Cabinet’s decision, and was instructed by Dr. Norton to sign the contract, which he did.
On November 21, 2016, Dr. Norton informed the National Assembly that there was no public tendering or procurement for the contract, since it was a matter of urgency for the storing of pharmaceuticals, and the facility was certified for such, in keeping with International Standards set out by PAHO/WHO.
However, the audit report revealed that the MoPH records state that the warehouse was not utilised for the months of July and August 2016, with the first delivery to the warehouse being on September 1, 2016.

Further, the report revealed that the MoPH entered into the contract as a statutory body corporate. However, according to the Fiscal Management & Accountability Act 2003, the Schedule passed by the National Assembly on December 15, 2003 lists the Ministry of Health as a Budget Agency, and not a Statutory Body Corporate, as stated in the Agreement of Tenancy.
Based on the examination of documents relating to the payments for the premises, a total of $337.5 million was paid during the period July 2016 to August 2018, with a balance of $137.500 million outstanding. Two months’ rent, together with the equivalent of one month’s rent as a security deposit accumulating to the sum of $37.5 million was paid on July 29, 2016 for the premises. Based on the report compiled by the Auditor-General, which was seen by this newspaper, the recommendation for a thorough investigation into the matter was made consequent to the findings that the correct procedures were not adhered to in awarding the contract. Dr. Norton was required to lodge his passport with the court, and the matter was adjourned to April 27, 2021. He was represented by attorneys-at-law Nigel Hughes and Marissa Leander.