(Trinidad Guardian) The company that brought in the tainted eye injections that left seven patients blinded in one or both eyes was awarded over $15 million in tender awards by the Ministry of Health.
Last week, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh said that as part of the punishment for bringing in drugs through “illegitimate importation” channels, the company was barred from participating in State tenders.
However, documents received by Guardian Media from inside Nipdec showed that as of September 2019, the same company, Eye See You Ophthalmic and Medical Supplies was paid $2.5 million to supply non-pharmaceutical items and another $12.8 million to supply pharmaceutical drugs to the public hospitals.
Two Sundays ago, Guardian Media reported exclusively that seven people were injected with a tainted eye injection, brought into the country via “illegitimate importation channels” and had to undergo surgery to have one or both infected eyes removed.
According to that report, the Government recalled the imported injection which contains Triamcineclone Acetonide as its main ingredient back in July.
In the past four months, the seven patients have undergone eye removal surgery and are currently being outfitted with prosthetic glass eyes.
In its July recall statement, the Government said that the drug Triamcineclone Acetonide BP was “not registered” in Trinidad and Tobago.
“It would have had to be brought into the country via parallel illegitimate importation channels. The Chemistry, Food and Drug Division of the Ministry of Health has already seized stocks of this drug from the supplier,” the ministry statement said.
Despite the severity of the illegitimate importation, the supplier is still in business and the only action taken against the company was that it is no longer allowed to participate in government tenders.
There is also conflicting information as to who is paying for the surgeries and subsequent treatment that the seven patients underwent since July.
The bacteria-laden drug was administered by unwitting ophthalmologists in July and one doctor alerted the Ministry of Health when he realised the severity of the injection.
On Sunday, Deyalsingh responded further to questions by the media about the illegal importation. He said then that the Ministry of Health mans the legal ports of entry.
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Image: Marco Verch Professional Photographer and Speaker (flickr)
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The life of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) unfortunately came to an end yesterday at a crucial juncture both in terms of the work that it had been doing and the country’s intersection with the imminent oil and gas economy which will see a vast expansion of procurement.
It is unbelievable that the caretaker administration of President Granger did not take steps to enlarge the terms of two of its commissioners to ensure that there is continuity between this PPC and the future one to be appointed. This is all the more important since the appointment of this PPC took more than 15 years following the approval of reforms to the Constitution. It is hoped that a new PPC can be swiftly appointed but with the unconstitutional status of the government and the requirement of the input of the Opposition Leader, it does not seem as if an appointment will be made before general elections on March 2, 2020. It is therefore shocking that President Granger took no steps to ensure that two of the five commissioners could continue presiding at the PPC for another year by which time a new commission would have surely been appointed.
In an exit interview with Stabroek News, PPC Chair Carol Corbin stated that she had written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland, drawing his attention to the impending expiration of the terms of the commissioners.
“I formally wrote the Speaker of the National Assembly because remember we report to the National Assembly, [bringing] to his attention that as of the 27th of October, the tenure of the commissioners would end,” she said.
“It is the President who appoints the commissioners after the process of selection and approval by the National Assembly,” she added, noting that the Speaker had said he had transmitted the communication to the Ministry of the Presidency. No action has apparently been taken and this is distressing considering the crucial work done by the PPC.
Indeed, the PPC term has ended right at the point at which it finalised debarment regulations and implemented them. Thirteen companies and persons have now been proscribed from bidding for government contracts for varying periods because of infractions against normative procurement practices. For decades, the absence of debarment legislation has allowed some contractors to run rings around procuring agencies and procurement oversight bodies all the while defrauding taxpayers through bribery and poor construction.
The debarment regulations now give the wherewithal to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to ostracise known offenders. One company was debarred by the PPC based on a request by the NPTAB and the others on the basis of their being blacklisted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The debarment regulations allow the PPC to take corresponding action once recognised multilateral agencies like the IDB have decided that a severe breach of procurement rules has occurred. As Mrs Corbin said, it is now for the NPTAB to do its due diligence to ensure that contractors don’t pull a fast one. For example, the debarred contractor could easily resurface under a new name or use relatives to get around the system.
Of course, the PPC has a role to play in this process which is why the extension of the term of two of its commissioners and the urgent reappointment of the entire body are crucial. A tribunal to challenge decisions of the PPC is also an important component of the architecture.
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The government last night unveiled draft legislation representing a “fundamental reset” of its public procurement processes in a bid to save taxpayers millions and aid small businesses.
Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance’s acting financial secretary, told Tribune Business the long-awaited Public Procurement Bill 2019 was designed to produce better “value for money” through improved transparency and accountability surrounding the award of government contracts.
Emphasising that it sought “to discourage any ad hoc approach” to the government’s sourcing of goods and services, Mr Johnson said the Bill also seeks to make bidding on such contracts more equitable for Bahamian companies and entrepreneurs.
Besides stipulating that all government agencies must award a minimum 10 percent of their contracts to Bahamian micro, small and medium-sized (MSME) businesses, Mr Johnson said the proposed legislation sets out a process where any aggrieved bidder can appeal a contract award via a newly-created Procurement Award Tribunal.
The draft Bill, which has been released for a 30-day public consultation with interested parties, mandates that all government entities “promptly” publish details of all contract awards, including the name of the winning bidder, the price and “the selection method” used to choose them.
“I think it’s a fundamental reset of the approach to procurement,” Mr Johnson said of the draft Bill. “Part of the research and development of this Procurement Bill was really to align it with international best practices.
“For us administratively, when you peruse the draft Bill, it involves the creation of a specific Public Procurement Department with the requisite expertise, and to have persons trained in procurement in the significant agencies – the ministries of works, health and education – that typically procure a large volume of goods and services.
“It’s a significant administrative change for us to ensure we have people that understand what procurement’s about, and how to execute contracts at optimal value, analyse bids and get into the science of procurement. It’s a significant management change…. It tries to discourage any ad hoc approach to the procurement of goods and services.”
Mr Johnson said the Public Procurement Department, whose mission according to the Bill is to “enhance economy, efficiency, transparency and due process in public procurement and the management of government resources”, would be overseen by the Ministry of Finance and “guide” other ministries/agencies in developing their own procurement plans.
Besides setting uniform standards for public sector bidding processes and documents, the Bill also charges the Public Procurement Department with developing and managing the proposed electronic procurement system that the Government intends to create.
This e-procurement system also involves establishing a supplier registry, and the Government yesterday said some 1,500 firms were already registered on its e-tender platform. The Public Procurement Department will also be in charge of “centralised” bidding for goods and services used throughout the public sector, although awards of $10m or must be approved by Cabinet.
Mr Johnson, meanwhile, told Tribune Business there were specific provisions in the Bill to enhance the public sector’s transparency and accountability to the Bahamian people by mandating the publication of regular reports on its procurement activities.
“Throughout all of this is the need to keep pristine records,” he said. “There are requirements for the publication of awards and the publication of annual reports. It will be incumbent on us as public servants to ensure records are kept to allow for periodic reports and annual reports to keep the public informed of our procurement activities.”
While procurement officers were already in place at several ministries, the acting financial secretary said several may need to be “upskilled and retrained” to meet the demands of the new legislation. He added that it represented an opportunity for civil servants to gain promotion as the Government targets “a model approach to procurement”.
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Image: Gerd Altmann (Pixabay)
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The Public Service Union (PSU) says it plans to talk to the Ministry of Health and Community Pharmacists’ Association over the Ministry’s “quality assurance and procurement process” for the importation of medications while expressing a “lack of confidence” in the Ministry and Minister Pablo Marin for their handling of the situation and health services generally.
The Union was responding in a press statement to Director of Health Services Dr. Marvin Manzanero, who in turn was responding to activist Geovannie Brackett. On Tuesday of this week, Brackett raised alarm that the Ministry was not doing enough to test the “generic” medications it allows to be imported, and is driving off “name-brand” medications over concerns of cost.
The Union raised particular concern about the lack of certain essential medications and particularly HIV/AIDS antiretroviral medication, which it called “unacceptable, discriminatory and criminal.” It also cited alleged conflicts of interest between physicians, administrators and even ministerial financial relationships and pharmaceutical firms and suppliers, stating these were costing Belize millions of dollars and in some cases lives, and asking the Prime Minister to intervene.
Dr. Marvin Manzanero says stock of depleted particular anti-retroviral medications will arrive within “two to three weeks,” citing a combination of factors such as the Indian producers’ inability to source certain materials and downscaling of production, leading larger countries to be supplied first. More than 1,300 Belizeans use anti-retroviral medication, and the longer the country is out of stock, the greater risk there is of a flare-up of HIV-related symptoms.
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On October 10, 2019, the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) held an Open Day event at its office building at lot 262 New Garden Street, Queenstown, marking the end of activities in observance of its inaugural annual procurement week. This year’s Procurement Week’s theme was ‘‘Working towards greater transparency in Public Procurement’’.
The Open Day offered Procurement Practitioners, the opportunity to engage in discussions with representatives of the PPC, including its Commissioners, the Chief Executive Officer, Heads of Departments and other specialist staff.
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