Nearly five months after 2012-2014 contract to supply drugs to Guyana’s health sector has expired there has been no official word to bidders on who has qualified for the new 2014-2016 period and who has supplied the country’s needs since July.
Observers are now questioning if there have been any supplies to the health sector since July as they believe those would be illegal. They are also urging the Ministry of Health, which is the procuring agency, to stop dragging its feet on announcing the winner of the contract.
“We have heard nothing. Nope, not one word from the Ministry of Health (MOH),” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ansa McAL Beverly Harper said last week.
Harper said her company is awaiting correspondence from the MOH before determining a course of action pertaining to the award or awards. Ansa McAL had previously signalled that it would challenge the announced prequalification of only New GPC for drug supplies to the country, only to find out that Cabinet was still to formally communicate its no-objection to this decision to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).
While Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon had made the announcement in June that only the New GPC was selected, he apologized only last month, explaining that official documentation was not sent to the NPTAB informing it of Cabinet’s no-objection
The Ministry of Health went on record saying that they were in the dark on who won the contract as they had not received correspondence from NPTAB.
An official of the NPTAB told Stabroek News that the letter was prepared around October 13 and was dispatched and is logged in the NPTAB records. The official explained that it is now the ministry’s role to notify all bidders on the status of their bid. “NPTAB’s role is complete for now; only if there are protests and that sort of thing. The ball is now in the hands of Ministry of Health to notify all the bidders …,” the official explained.
The official opined that bidders had not received bids as at October 21, as the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Leslie Cadogan, is probably “ensuring all the Ts are crossed and Is are dotted.”
Efforts to contact Cadogan over the months have been painstakingly futile. Stabroek News is consistently told that he is either not in office or busy. Last week more of the same responses were given by Cadogan’s secretary. She informed that he would not be in office for the rest of the day as he had left for a meeting.
One observer has questioned what process the MOH has been using to supply drugs since July 1 as the contract for this new supply period is not yet legitimate.
“What has been happening with drug supplies since June 30 is a question for anyone. Does it mean no drug has been supplied since then? If it has does it mean it’s being sole sourced? Does the current situation meet the requirement for a sole sourcing? I just don’t know what is,” the observer stated.
An NPTAB source pointed out that the legalities in drugs being supplied before the announcement will have to be determined by legal minds following the Procurement Act. He however stated that the contract would be altogether void if a contract was awarded before the necessary notification steps are taken.
“This thing is tricky and I can’t talk for any ministry on their views but law is law if a contract is awarded before the requisite steps its void and will have to be retendered… If this one falls into that bracket is another story,” the source said.
