Dear Editor,
After reading MP, Mr David Patterson’s comment in the SN article of July 8, captioned ‘Opposition MPs query health procurement’ and Minister Ramsammy’s defence of NGPC on July 10, I feel vindicated with my previous letter on the Ramroop Group, Queens Atlantic and New GPC. I will leave the public to pass their own judgement after I outline the following: 1. Cabinet decided in 2003 to single source the procurement of drugs for the public health system from New GPC; 2. New GPC made on average G$600 million in sales to the PPP government for the past 5 years (total sales – G$3 billion); 3. New GPC is owned by Queens Atlantic which is owned by the Ramroop family with the principal shareholder being Dr Ramroop, a personal friend of President Jagdeo.
It took young David Patterson to unearth this muddle and for this I must congratulate him. He will make a fine MP.
But I would also like to highlight some of the inaccuracies in Dr. Ramsammy’s defence. He strongly defended the right of the government to single source from NGPC as compliant with Cabinet’s decision. In accordance with Section 3 of the Public Procurement Act, all procurement funded from the Treasury shall be approved by the National Tender Board, except where it involves national security like the purchase of the helicopters. The National Tender Board also has the authority to exempt procurement from the law on a case-by-case basis, not the Cabinet. Further, there is no clear justification for the single source procurement of drugs from NGPC when there are many other pharmaceutical manufacturers in the Caribbean, including our very own Twins Manufacturing.
I fully understand the emotive reasons for ensuring that the expenditure remains in Guyana, and NGPC could have very well won all the competitive tenders, but we will never know if we over-paid for drugs during the last 5 years. This could be a clear case where the taxpayers are paying excess prices for drugs as a result of a single source procurement arrangement.
Dr Ramsammy claimed the Auditor General did not question the legality of the transactions, but this is not about legal or illegal, this is a case of one company headed by a personal friend of the President getting preferential treatment in front of others; this is about a procurement process that was not competitive, hence the lack of transparency; this is about the Government of Guyana following the rule of law.
When Dr Ramsammy uses word like “time-bound” to wiggle out of another fiasco, I just reminisce on the days when people like Dr Ramsammy and Mr Manzoor Nadir used to chastise the Hoyte regime for their ‘small-time gerrymander-ing.’ Today, we have big-time irregularity that is not time-bound and is considered appropriate. They have all sold out Cde Cheddi.
We will all be at the next Congress and the masses will be bussed in from all over Guyana to rubber stamp centrally driven resolution after resolution, extolling the fortitude of the government. But slowly, the PPP core leaders like Cde Janet, Cde Moses, Cde Ralph and Cde Donald must make themselves aware of what this administration has done to the party and the people of Guyana. There is no effective opposition in Guyana and thus the PPP has to act more pro-actively as the guardian of the people. The more corruption there is, the more our people will leave our shores and the higher our vulnerability. Any country strengthens on 1. money – the more leakage from the Treasury as a result of abnormal arrangements such as single sourcing of drugs by the Ministry of Health, the less money we have for development; and 2. manpower – the higher the corruption, the higher the immigration rate.
The disrespect for the rule of law must stop or we will have more ‘Finemen’ popping up all over the place, and they will be groomed even in honourable institutions.
Yours faithfully,
Avinash Balram