Minister of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran said the contract for the supply of drugs to the tune of $1.8 billion in 2013 was awarded through competitive bidding but acknowledged that there are problems in the systems to manage the storage and inventory of drugs procured.
He was at the time answering questions put to him by Alliance for Change Leader Khemraj Ramjattan on Thursday, during the third day of the examination of the estimates in Parliament.
New GPC is by far the biggest supplier of drugs and medical supplies to the Georgetown Hospital and to the Ministry of Health.
Main opposition APNU financial point man Carl Greenidge asked what arrangements the Ministry of Health had in place for overseeing the contract for acquisition of drugs and medical supplies.
In response, Minister Ramsaran spoke of the new storage facility at Diamond, which will allow the ministry to receive stocks and be more efficient in its inventory management and in getting the supplies to the end user. He said that as a result of the new bond, doctors will be able to order their drugs in a proper manner. He said that the ministry needs to manage its resources better regardless of where those drugs are kept.
Greenidge wanted to know why it is that the government persists in paying one major supplier 100 percent upfront. This, the Minister said, has been the practice and he undertook to supply to Greenidge contracts for 2010 to present in about one week. “The arrangement we have is what we have been accustomed to,” said Ramsaran.
Greenidge wanted to know whether cash upfront payments would not put the Treasury in an onerous position to outlay monies in such a manner.
In January, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Leslie Cadogan said that New GPC had met the requirements that would allow it to be prequalified and awarded contracts using the single source method.
Noting that over $1.252 billion in contracts were awarded to the company in 2010, Cadogan said the company met the specifications required by law.
