APNU+AFC has plans for Bobby Ramroop…Sole sourcing of drugs will come to an end under coalition Govt.
Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan recently asserted that once the coalition, APNU+AFC assumes office, the sole sourcing of drugs in Guyana will come to an end.
New GPC owner, Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop
His comments follow a series of concerns over the years as it relates to the Health Ministry’s continued sourcing of drugs from the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited (NGPC) without competitive bidding, despite frequently promising to cease this practice. New GPC is owned by former President Bharrat Jagdeo’s best friend, Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop. That company has been supplying the bulk of the drugs to Government for the past 15 years, ever since it was acquired by Ramroop in 1999. The political opposition has even linked this practice to the cause of the extreme shortage of pharmaceuticals existing in the local market. Ramjattan said that the APNU + AFC feels that there must be some supervisory role over this process through the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission which will be the body to ensure that all the rules are adhered to in order to secure value for money. The AFC Leader said that it will be up to the body to decide when sole sourcing is “absolutely” necessary. The lawyer said, “Sole sourcing will be used where applicable as in the case if the country requires a particular machine and only one company at that time can provide it. But it must not be misconstrued that we are
AFC Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan
going to politicize the body because that is just totally out of the question but given my understanding of it and the workings of procurement processes I can tell you that that is how sole sourcing is supposed to work. It is not intended to be used as an instrument to enrich one person at the expense of the taxpayers.” He added, “But sole sourcing of pharmaceuticals is out of the question and that will be buried, because there are other companies that can provide the same services here and at a far better rate for the Guyanese people.” Ramjattan emphasized that sole sourcing is being used as a “corrupt instrument” and the establishment of the Procurement Commission under an APNU+AFC government will ensure that the playing field is evened out and the advantage being taken on the nation will come to an end. The opposition had also spoken to the pre qualification requirements for the supply of drugs which it said were changed to such an “unreasonable” extent that it forces only one person or company to qualify for the supply of pharmaceuticals. That company is the New GPC. Under the revised criteria for the pre-qualification of suppliers of drugs and medical supplies, the bidders must demonstrate a gross turnover of $1B (US$5M) and net assets of $500M (US$2.5M). One of the Ministry’s criteria is that maximum score will be awarded to applicants who have paid $50M in corporate taxes annually. The company with 50 or more employees, and warehousing capacity of 30,000 square feet in the city, will also gain an edge. New GPC is the only supplier, locally, with its own bond of that size. According to the revised prequalification criteria, maximum points will also be awarded in the evaluation process to the applicants who have been supplying Government for more than seven years without any negative reports. Further, New GPC has been a feature in the Auditor General’s report over the years with several instances focused on multi-million-dollar deficiencies in the procurement and supply of drugs to Government.