Former Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton of Eccles, East Bank Demerara, appeared in the courtroom of Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrate Court where he was not required to plead to the indictable charge.
He was granted bail in the sum of $400,000 and will make his next court appearance on April 27. Attorneys-at-law Nigel Hughes and Marissa Leander represented him.
The particulars of the charge state that between June 1, 2016, and January 1, 2017, at Georgetown, while performing duties of the Minister of Public Health, Dr. Norton willfully misconducted himself in performing for his duties. He allegedly did so when he instructed Trevor Thomas, who was the permanent secretary of the Ministry, to sign a contract dated July 20, 2016, between the M.o. P.H. and the Linden Holdings Inc. for the rental of the property situated at Lot 29 Sussex Street, Albouystown. The contract stipulated a monthly rent of $12,500,000, to be used by the MOPH for storage of pharmaceuticals for a period of three years with effect from July 1, 2016, inclusive. This resulted in the payment of $327,500,000 in Linden Holding Inc. without first obtaining approval from the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board.
The former Minister is charged following an investigation carried out by the Auditor-General. It was found that proper procedures were not adhered to with respect to awarding of the contract to Linden Holding Inc., owned by Lawrence Singh, for the leasing of the facility to store the medical equipment for the then Ministry of Public Health and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
While in March, the High Court Judge Nareshwar Harnanan threw out the lawsuit for $120M brought by Singh, which he claimed sum was owed by the Ministry of Health for rental of property.
According to a release from Senior Counsel Andrew Pollard, one of the lawyers who represented the State, the judge dismissed the claim, after having found that a notice of termination of the tenancy issued by the health ministry had been properly given.
