August 10,2016 Source

Inspectors from the Government Analyst Food & Drug Department, which is responsible for inspecting public storage bonds for pharmaceuticals, have not been asked to inspect the still under-construction Sussex Street storage bond that was selected by government to store pharmaceuticals for the Ministry of Public Health.

“Contrary to the Food and Drugs regulation, which requires the Food and Drugs part in the inspection process, there has been no [request] to the department in the matter even though it has a legitimate role in the process,” a usually reliable source told Stabroek News.

When he was questioned on Monday in the National Assembly about the certification of the bond, Public Health Minister Dr George Norton informed that the government department that is responsible for certification falls under his Ministry.

Norton had also said that the Sussex Street facility was PAHO/WHO approved, but no certification was given by the named international agency since that is not its mandate.

The disclosure by Norton was made during questioning of the line items in the financial paper covering the period of January to July, 2016 to the tune of $931,018,292, which was eventually approved.

At the sitting, there were more questions than answers about the government’s decision to single-source the contract to store pharmaceuticals at the Sussex Street bond, which Norton claimed was due to the urgent need to find a new storage facility in light of the $19.2M per month that government was paying to use the New GPC bond.

The government is to pay the new rental company, registered as Linden Holding Company, $12.5M a month and according to the minister there was no public tendering because it “was an emergency.”

Observers have questioned a $25M deposit handed over to the company since the bond is not yet finished as well as how the company became aware that there was a need for a storage facility.

It was opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira who questioned whether the company, which the Minister had said was registered in Middle Street, Cummingsburg, was located in the Sidewalk Café building.

The Sidewalk Café has been closed but was located in a building owned by Minister of Public Telecommunications Cathy Hughes.

Stabroek News visited the location yesterday and its reporter was directed to a small office on the upper flat of the building. On being told that the reporter was there to see Larry Singh, who was identified by opposition members as the owner of the company, the lone person in the small office (which had a desk and chair with a computer and two additional chairs) informed Mr. Singh who was in an outer office.

“I have no comments!” the man was overheard saying.

Later, as he came to the door, the reporter again approached the man.

“What is your problem woman? I said have no comments. You can go and write what you want but right now you are trespassing,” the man said in an aggressive tone even before any questions were posed.

Stabroek News also visited the Sussex Street location and while the gate was closed it was evident that works are still being done on the bond.

Attempts to make contact with Minister Norton yesterday proved futile.

While facing questions on Monday, Norton said that rental of the bond space was approved by a Cabinet decision.

The method used to select the company, however, has still not been explained.  Observers have suggested that even if the government wanted to save the country a few million dollars a month, it could have utilised a short tendering process. However, given the fact the company’s bond is still incomplete, observers are questioning how it managed to be awarded the lucrative contract.

Questions are also being asked about the Diamond storage bond built by the previous administration. When asked about this on Monday, Norton said, “We inherited a storage facility and we hope we would not have to use it much longer.”

The previous administration had boasted that the Materials Management Unit was storing medical drugs and other materials at international standards. The 26,691 feet facility was said to be electronically-managed and had all the prerequisites, including controlled temperature and fire response mechanisms such as smoke detectors and sprinklers.

However, the former government continued to rent a facility provided by New GPC.

New GPC had been a controversial supplier to the health system because of concerns over single-sourcing, the price of drugs supplied, whether shipments were adequately completed and pre-qualification guidelines that appeared stacked in its favour. While in opposition, both APNU and the AFC had vowed to review drug procurement arrangements.

Norton has since promised to lay over the contract signed between the government and the Linden Holding Company.