T&T company’s bids for health contracts on hold
-after concerns over ignoring of inquiry findings
Following the award of contracts to impugned Trinidad and Tobago company Western Scientific, the Ministry of Public Health has put on hold the company’s bids for two other contracts.
The suspension of the bids followed questions raised about how Western Scientific could be used for sole-sourcing by the Public Health Ministry after damning conclusions were made about the company by a Board of Inquiry (BoI) that investigated procurement practices at the ministry.
“I am aware that two contracts were signed this week and Western Scientific was issued with those contracts, which signals a green light for them to supply…,” Procurement Officer of the Ministry of Public Health Phillip Bryan told Sunday Stabroek on Friday.
“…And there is a bid for two other contracts, and those contracts we will not be going ahead with because that is the instruction I have, but I can’t speak to what items exactly,” he added, before explaining that he did not have the information at hand.
In mid-August, government had announced that the company had secured a contract for the procurement of Sysmex reagents for the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS) to the tune of US$154,154 (equivalent to $31,937,626). This immediately raised eyebrows as the BoI, established by the Ministry of the Presidency into allegations of mismanagement and malpractices in the procurement of pharmaceuticals at the Ministry of Public Health, had recommended in January that the company’s representative should be barred from future tenders.
The recommendation came on the heels of information that an employee of the Public Health Ministry had conspired with the Western Scientific representative to gain insider information.
Additionally, the BoI had said that the Trinidadian company was hostile to the BoI and failed to appear before it. The BoI also recommended that legal advice be sought over the reviewing of contracts awarded to the Western Scientific representative.
Western Scientific has also been blacklisted by the Inter-American Development Bank for five years over alleged fraudulent practices here.
The employee of the company cited by the IDB was the same one impugned by the BoI in January of this year. Given all of this, the Public Health Ministry would have to explain why it went ahead with Western Scientific and with singlesourcing when the items were likely available from multiple sources.
Western Scientific was also one of a number of companies that Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence had told Parliament in June this year had delivered expired or nearly expired drugs to the Ministry.
Lawrence assumed control of the ministry in January and vowed to revamp procurement systems. She will now face questions as to how Western Scientific was used for single-sourcing despite its track record. Single-sourcing is supposed to be limited to situations where only one company is able to supply certain goods.
Sources also say that the ignoring of the BoI recommendation by the ministry will call into question the purpose of dozens of audits and Commissions of Inquiry convened by the APNU+AFC government. In a number of cases, recommendations have not been acted on and Western Scientific is a prime example.
‘Apprised’
On the sidelines of a Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) conference on Thursday, Lawrence was asked by the Sunday Stabroek for a status update on the Western Scientific contract and if the ministry was looking at the matter. She explained that she was not responsible for actual procurement in the ministry and was at that time not aware of developments and would have to seek clarity before commenting.
“I would have to check with the department to see what is going on. We have a new procurement department, we have a manager and all of these matters would be within that manager’s purview. I have a meeting tomorrow [Friday], so I am quite certain that whatever the situation is, as of tomorrow I would be apprised,” Lawrence said.
“Tomorrow I would be having a meeting with my procurement manager and I would be apprised of what the issues are. But I can’t talk to you and tell you things I am not apprised about. So let me be apprised first and then you can ask me your questions,”