August 11,2016  Source

Tweaking the facts seems to have landed Minister of Public Health; Dr. George Norton, in hot water.

Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) will be moving a motion to have Norton taken before the Committee of Privileges, when Parliament comes out of recess in October.
This was disclosed by Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, during a press conference at the party’s headquarters yesterday.
Jagdeo announced that this step will be taken because the Minister lied to the National Assembly on Monday while defending sole sourcing a contractor to provide drug storage space in an unfinished bond.
A sum of $25M has already been advanced to the company, Linden Holding Company, as a security deposit. In addition, Government will be paying $12.5M per month.
On Monday, Norton had claimed that this decision was partly taken because a $19.2M rental fee had been paid to New Guyana Pharmaceutical Company (GPC) in the past for drug storage and this fee was deemed too costly.
According to Jagdeo, however, this is a blatant lie, as there was never a rental agreement whereby New GPC, the sole provider of drugs to the state for years under the PPP, was paid for storage.
He also blasted Norton for saying that pharmaceuticals are currently being stored in the bond, and listed this as another reason for the motion.
“Asked whether he will lay a copy of the contract in parliament, he says he has to get the landlord’s permission,” Jagdeo scoffed. “This, from a government that tells us contracts should be routinely laid in parliament. Then when pressed about the rate, we found out that we were going to pay $12.5M per month and we have made the initial advances.”
“$12.5M a month to rent about 10,000 sq feet in storage, and through no public tendering process? So, in trying to excuse it, we were told in parliament that the PPP paid $19M to New GPC per month to rent the facility.”

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo

“The PPP never rented any storage space or paid any rental for any storage space from New GPC. If the Government says otherwise, it could easily show you the contract. They have been in office for over a year now, so they would know. We have never paid a cent, much less $19M for storage.”
Jagdeo posited that Norton may have arrived at this figure because a quotation was sought from New GPC. New GPC, Jagdeo said, had quoted the figure of over $16M per month for 70,000 sq feet. Jagdeo claimed that Government then went to rent the bond from the company.
New GPC, in a press release, also blasted Norton for his statement. Indicating that it never charged the previous administration for drug storage, New GPC had related that it had told the government, after being approached, that it would charge $237 per square foot of its bond.
Jagdeo also went on to note that Norton, after being questioned by members of the House, claimed that pharmaceuticals and medical supplies were being stored in the bond.

A section of the unfinished bond which Government has single sourced.

“There is nothing being stored in that bond. It is under construction,” Jagdeo said. “When parliament comes out of recess, we will go to the national assembly with a motion to send him to the Committee of Privileges for lying to the parliament.”
Jagdeo could not be sure whether members of cabinet may have also had a role in vetting this arrangement. However, the former President stated that, if necessary, the PPP would go after other members of the cabinet.
During the considerations of the supplemental requests in the National Assembly on Monday, Norton was unable to answer a number of questions posed by the political opposition. He was quizzed in relation to the money taken from the Fund for the bond which is located in Albouystown.
He was unable to tell the House who were the principals of the Linden Holding Company, when it was registered, when the three-year contract was signed, and who signed on Government’s behalf.
Linden Holdings Company has no medical background and from all indications the bond, located in Sussex Street, is not approved by the Government Analyst -Food and Drug Department.