Procurement Commission asked to probe Sussex Street deal

The Opposition has written to the Public Procurement Commission (PPC), the body that overlooks state contracts, asking that it investigate a multimillion-dollar contract for a drug bond on Sussex Street. In a released letter from the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Member of Parliament, Juan Edghill, Tuesday requested PPC’s Chairperson, Carol Corbin, to initiate the probe how Linden Holdings Incorporated managed to win the contract. “I write you on behalf of the Parliamentary Opposition PPP/C to request that your Commission acting under the Constitution of Guyana, investigate the above named project.” Edghill said that from information, the contract for the bond was sole sourced. “Significant sums of public monies are continually being expended on its rental and other operational costs,” Edghill said. On August 23, 2016, an unsigned copy of the contract was released to the public. The contract shows that the rental is for “office space” and not a bond for the storage of pharmaceuticals. “In spite of the public statements made by the Minister of Public Health in the National Assembly and the specially appointed Cabinet Sub-committee that the Bond is PAHO/ WHO compliant, the contract makes for no such stipulation. The contract also includes exceedingly generous conditions for the landlord for three years and includes a 12-month notice of termination,” the MP wrote in making his case for an investigation. He noted that the issue with the Sussex Street bond facility came up for the first time in the National Assembly on August 8, 2016 when the Committee of Supply examined the supplementary provisions requested by the Government for money for several state agencies and projects. (Kaieteurnews.com)