Georgetown : President Donald Ramotar has confirmed that the contract for the pre-qualification of suppliers for the supply and delivery of pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies and consumerables in the health sector was awarded to the New GPC Inc., after the two other applicants failed to meet the criteria, set out by the evaluation team.
The President said that the decision of awarding the contract was done strictly at the level of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board and not at the level of Cabinet.
Responding to queries about whether the criteria should be changed to allow for more than one company to supply the health sector with drugs, so as to allow for competitive pricing, the President noted that changing the criteria to allow for the entry of another firm that could not meet the prior criteria, would allow for the danger of being supplied with poor quality drugs.
“…that is a serious issue when you are talking about the health of people in the country, because you know there is concern about some of the types of drugs we have been getting in the country and so forth,” the President said.
The President did however; agree that overpricing could be an issue with a sole supplier. “…maybe what we have to do is encourage broader participation and higher standard and hopefully some of those who did not reach the criteria will reach them,” he said.
The President, noting that the grumbling in the media from the other two applicants who did not meet the criteria for the contracts, said they have the right to appeal the decision.
The International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA), Ansa McAL, and New GPC were among four other companies that submitted pre-qualification documents for the supply and delivery of medical and pharmaceutical supplies for Guyana’s health sector.
After the contract was awarded to New GPC, the two other companies, in the media have claimed that the contract was awarded to New GPC in spite of the fact that they met the criteria for the contract. The companies also claimed that they were not notified when the award was made.
