-bag with unexploded Molotov cocktails was found near fence
How arsonists gained access to and moved about in the Ministry of Health’s compound without the security guards on site being alerted remains a mystery since there are signs the perpetrators attempted to set fire to the other buildings and this would have taken some time.
Early Friday the Ministry’s main building at Brickdam was destroyed by a fire that President Bharrat Jagdeo said was deliberately set since a number of incendiary devices, ‘channa bombs’, were found in the compound, some of which had gone off. Apart from the main building being destroyed, a room in the annexe that housed the Regional Health Services and the Environmental Health Unit was badly scorched. This room is located in the south-east of the mail building. The louvre windows were discovered damaged and pieces of glass and channa were found on the inside and outside of this building, the police had said. Several items inside the room such as condoms and medical equipment were damaged.
“The damage was not caused by the fire emanating from the main building. In fact the fire from the main building never reached that building”, the police had stated. The police had reported that a further search of the compound had unearthed a bag with two complete bottles with a suspected flammable substance, wicks and channa and three broken bottles with channa. The bag was found outside the annexe, close to the zinc fence at the eastern side of the compound, Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy told Stabroek News yesterday.
He further disclosed that another of the ‘channa bombs’ had been found under a vehicle at the eastern side of the Ministry’s building while another was found under the steps that lead to the second floor of the building. This would suggest that the perpetrators had moved about the compound and since the fire was seen to have started in the top flat of the three-storey building, it is likely that they had climbed up to set fire there, since there were steps outside the building and a walk-way that led to another wing of the building. The Minister clarified that the windows at the top were not grilled and were pane-type windows. Earlier, he had also said that an initial survey of the buildings still standing had revealed that windows were broken at strategic points, which he said, indicated that attempts were made to “totally destroy everything”.
The compound is surrounded by high chain-link fences with barbed wires at the top, except for the eastern side which is made of zinc and does not have any barbed wire at the top. Dr. Ramsammy noted that the fences would be difficult to scale but said that it would have been easy to come over from the eastern side. Under the zinc, he explained, at certain points, the spaces are wide enough so that someone could wriggle under. He recalled too that in the past, thieves had entered the compound and stripped the vehicles, making off with rear-view mirrors and even items as big as vehicle windshields “in spite of the security”.
Sleeping
“I would not be surprised if they were sleeping”, he said stating that the guards are not very observant and having been departing the building late for almost ten years, “invariably they would be sleeping when I come out. There are many times I am trapped in here because they are sleeping”.
On Friday, one of the security guards on duty had told this newspaper, that sometime after 2 pm, she observed smoke emanating from the top flat of the building. She was at the security hut at the main entrance of the ministry and said that no flames were visible at that time. She had stated that two other security officers were at the back of the building making routine checks when the fire broke out. She called the Security base and told them to call the fire service.
The police had said that at 3:10 am on Friday, they received a report of a fire at the Ministry of Health and immediately contacted the Fire Service and patrols were dispatched to the scene. Five minutes later, upon arrival at the scene, the patrols saw the top flat of the main building engulfed in flames. On checking around the compound they discovered a large bottle along with what smelt like a flammable substance with channa and a wick. Further checks were made around the compound and two security guards were seen. They alleged that they saw smoke at the top flat of the building and raised an alarm. A third guard was later found at the Hadfield Street entrance and he alleged that he had gone to release vehicles from the compound into Hadfield Street, the police had stated. The Ministry had since terminated its contract with Bran’s Security Services.
Uninterrupted
Work was ongoing at the location yesterday and most of the services that operated out of the Ministry’s main building would be relocated to the other annexes in the compound. Services will be uninterrupted, the Health Minister told reporters, even though the space will not be fully ready for today. He said that he is still appalled that anyone would think of attacking the Ministry. Dr. Ramsammy said that he had not spoken to the police since Saturday but noted that it is a clear case of arson. A reward of $25M has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator(s). The Minister noted that many people access health services through the ministry, and in stating so, referred to PNCR leader Robert Corbin’s recent illness.
The minister asserted that it could not have been a personal attack on him, as according to him, he is one of the easiest ministers for anyone to attack. He referred to news reports, which he said implied that maybe the fire was set “to hide information”. He addressed the questions raised, specifically as it relates to procurement of drugs via the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (NGPC). He asserted that this was a process and has nothing to do with records. The Health Minister declared that the Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament have questioned him and noting that it was a process – said they asked whether it’s a legitimate way of procurement and that they had never questioned the records of procurement. “So they have never questioned the records of procurement. What they questioned (is) whether we have a right to procure from the New GPC. So that has nothing to do with records. You could burn all you want; it doesn’t remove that, that’s a process thing. It has to do with procedures and tender board and cabinet. You can’t burn and hide that”, he declared.
The second issue raised, he said, was $120M from 1994, which the ministry had not provided the paperwork for. He said that part of the reason was that the ministry could not balance the bank account from the 1980’s because there were no records. The original bank accounts had to be closed and a new one started because they could not balance it, since they had no records from the 80’s. They have since found the records and handed them over to the Auditor-General. “It’s stupid that you first find the records, gave it to the AG and then you go burn it. It’s crazy to think about it”, Dr. Ramsammy declared. “It’s neither personal nor was it some act from inside to hide anything cause there is nothing for us to hide”, he added.
And appearing to be referring to drug trafficker, Roger Khan, in whose United States court case, his name had been called, the Health Minister said that people here are trying to manufacture a story because “of some stupid thing somebody said in the US”. He said that if such persons (Khan) wanted to get to him, “it is crazy because those types of people that ya’ll talking about, they want me… (they) ain’t coming to burn down the goddamn building…they’ll get me some place else. This is a pure act of terrorism and you shouldn’t try to manufacture a story here”.
Meantime, at 8 am today the normal service that the Ministry provides will be available. The minister acknowledged that there will be some confusion as to where personnel will be located because some of the physical work will not be completed by this morning but assured that it will be completed by the end of the week.
He stated that local security firms have provided a poor service, not only to the Ministry and “I have been unhappy with the services provided before the fire and I am not certain they can provide the service we need now”.
The Ministry will rise from the ashes, the minister stated, noting that he had told the workers that he wants the burnt out site to be cleared in two weeks and according to him, construction for a permanent home for the Ministry will begin this week.
