As increasing numbers of cases of importation of counterfeit and/or expired goods, particularly milk, drugs, items of food and medical devices continue to show up on the local radar, a reliable Public Health Ministry source has told Stabroek Business that it is rife with corruption, adding that the authorities no longer appear to have “reliable control” over the integrity of several consignments of consumer goods imported into the country.
“The Government Analyst Food and Drugs Department (GAFDD) may be the oversight body but it has little real, if any, control over the situation,” the ministry source said.
Earlier this week GAFDD Director Marlan Cole restated the view he had previously articulated that “qualitative and quantitative limitations in the department” continued to “seriously limit its capacity to properly police the movement of those categories of goods that fall within its jurisdiction.”
Cole said he was referring to the fact that the department not only had too few functionaries to adequately perform its inspection functions but also that its inspectors had only benefited from limited training.
Cole declined to comment directly on the Health Ministry source’s view that the system of securing clearance for imports under the jurisdiction of the GAFDD was “riddled with corruption.” However, he pointed out that a combination of the modest salaries paid to his inspectors coupled with the fact the FDD was required to process “perhaps $100 million worth of imports every week” meant that there was certainly leeway for corrupt practices.
Cole said it has been his experience that it was difficult to recruit qualified persons to serve as inspectors “given the small salaries inspectors receive.” Stabroek Business understands that the starting salary for GAFDD inspectors is under $75,000 per month.
And against the backdrop of the numerous court cases arising out of allegations of illegal importation of counterfeit or expired goods Cole said the GAFDD continued to be hamstrung in its efforts to prosecute offenders on account of the fact that there was no legal officer in the department.
The GAFDD, Cole said, was compelled to rely largely on police prosecutors, a circumstance which had not, in a number of instances, resulted in judgement in favour of the department.
Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry source said that the frailty in the system was reflected in the fact that while the law stipulated that the clearance of some categories of goods had to be preceded by documented permission from the GAFDD, it had become routine for goods to be cleared without such permission; a circumstance which Cole had earlier said existed.
