Opposition Member of Parliament and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman, Jermaine Figueira says that a thorough investigation is needed into the government’s procurement of a bond in Linden, Region 10, which is owned by a representative of the Prime Minister (PM), Brigadier (retired) Mark Phillips.
It was Regional Chairman, Deron Adams who told the media on Tuesday morning that $900,000 is being doled out monthly to the PM’s representative for use of the bond to store mostly personal protective equipment including face masks, gloves and face shields. He scoffed at the arrangement, disclosing that there are health facilities within the region that can be used to store these items. These alternatives, he reasoned could potentially save taxpayers millions of dollars.
Those savings, he further stated, could be used to construct another hospital within the compound of the Bamia health facility. He said that missives detailing those alternatives along with requests for further information have been dispatched to the Regional Executive Officer (REO), the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), and the Permanent Secretary attached to the Finance Ministry.
Figueira concurred that there was need to axe the agreement. He said that the matter came up yesterday during a meeting of the PAC. According to him, the Region Health Officer sought to justify the arrangement by saying that there is need for the bond, given the pandemic and limited storage capacity at the hospital. The MP said that he was not satisfied with the explanation, noting that the items could have been kept at other regional agencies free of cost.
“This issue has to be thoroughly investigated. Requests were made by the Public Accounts Committee for further answers to be given, particularly with regards to this bond that is on a contract for over a year now. We really need clarity,” he told the media on Tuesday.
Figueira went on to say that the arrangement can be seen as an act by the government “to put money in their friends’ pocket”.
The revelation is reminiscent of the “Sussex Street Bond” fiasco that erupted during Figueira’s A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC)’s stint in office, which saw the doling out of $337.5M in rental fees ($12.5M per month) to a company without allegedly first obtaining the approval of the regulatory procurement agency, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).
