While ANSA McAl says it adhered to a procurement process which saw it getting a contract for the supply of $605M in drugs to the Georgetown Public Hospital, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) says that it has not seen the contract or approved any such sum.
“All I can tell you is that I received a letter with some documents attached one morning and almost simultaneously there was a story in your paper about the said letter,” Chairman of the NPTAB, Berkley Wickham told Stabroek News, when contacted, yesterday.
He was referring to a news item which appeared in Wednesday’s edition of Stabroek News headlined `GPHC seeks approval for $605m emergency purchase from ANSA McAl’.
“I have not approved any money because I cannot (do it) just like that. I saw the letter and I said what craziness is this because that is not how it is done. Someone can’t just send a letter to me to approve six hundred and something million dollars, so I notified (Public Health) Minister (Volda) Lawrence”, he added.