Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy says the government’s procurement process for drugs in the health sector is transparent and “nothing is dishonest” about it.
Ramsammy held a press briefing yesterday to respond to claims by Lloyd Singh, the Chief Executive Officer of International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA) as it regards procurement and the company’s pre-qualification as a supplier. Singh gave an interview to Kaieteur News which was published yesterday and according to Ramsammy, both the newspaper and Singh got it wrong. He took Singh to task over statements he made in the press, saying that the only thing dishonest about the process is the stories he has been telling the media. He said that while the press has a right to inform the public, it is a right that should be guided by responsible actions.
Ramsammy said the facts are that suppliers in the sector are required to submit to a pre-qualification process and last year six companies, including five from Guyana, responded to an invitation from the Ministry in October 2010. He said that five of the companies submitted bids as part of the pre-qualification process in November and of that number, two were approved—the New Guyana Pharma-ceutical Corporation (NGPC) and Medpharm. Ramsammy explained that both companies passed the pre-qualification test based on the capacity to manufacture specific drugs locally. “They qualify based on the products they manufacture and that alone,” he added.
However, he said that the Ministry also has an open tender, where companies are invited to bid and according to him, many companies usually qualify during this round. The open tender is a less rigorous process, he said, while noting that the IPA is one of the companies which has qualified as part of the open tender process and supplies the ministry.
With respect to the pre-qualification process, Ramsammy said that the IPA did not meet certain important requirements and as a result it was not approved during that process. Asked about whether the ministry had advertised for supplies which the pre-qualified companies have been contracted to supply, he said that pre-qualification means that the companies are provided with quotations and he added that the ministry needs to advertise for those drugs. Ramsammy defended the process while saying that it is used internationally and is recognised as a sound one.
Ramsammy said local companies that manufacture goods automatically pre-qualify. This, he said, is a government incentive for companies to start manufacturing more drugs locally.
