Delays in construction of drug bond forced rental of New GPC facility

-Ramsaran

The Health Ministry’s new Materials Management Unit, at Diamond, East Bank Demerara is storing medical drugs and other materials at international standards, according to Health Minister Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, who says the delay in its construction forced government to rent storage from pharmaceuticals supplier New GPC.

The new 26,691 feet facility, which will be commissioned shortly, is electronically-managed and has all the prerequisites, including controlled temperature and fire response mechanisms such as smoke detectors and sprinklers,the Government Information Agency (GINA) said on Monday.

Dr. Bheri Ramsaran
Dr. Bheri Ramsaran

It is manned by trained personnel, who use the computerised data system to control the flow of goods, so that there is minimal storage time in the distribution of the drugs to the health facilities, it added, while noting that the bond was funded by donor agencies (about $375M) and by the government ($120M).

GINA said that while at the bond, the minister responded to questions regarding the health sector’s payment for storage space at the New GPC.

The minister said that the government undertook to build the new facility because the previous bond was an old building at Mud Flats, in Kingston, which did not have air conditioning, was dusty and rodent infested and not appropriate for storage of drugs.

Although the construction of the facility began in 2009, negotiations started many years before. USAID and other donor agencies subsequently decided to assist and mobilised funds, including for Supply Chain Management Systems (SCMS), based in South Africa, which is among the best in warehouse management of medical supplies.

GINA said that the minister explained that while building the facility, the ministry still needed to provide services for drugs to be efficiently and effectively stored, therefore SCMS also negotiated with New GPC to use some of the facilities it had for its own pharmaceutical business.  SCMS, utilising USAID funds which are strictly monitored, rented the building for that purpose.

According to GINA, the minister said that the completion of the construction of the new facility was delayed because of continuous issues with the contractors and by June/July 2012 when SCMS indicated that they no longer had funding for the rent, the government had to accelerate the construction of the bond, while taking over the payment of the just over $1M monthly rent.

Supplies from the Farm facility have already been relocated to the new bond in Diamond. However, the Health Ministry is still storing some items at an off-site facility in Ruimveldt, also owned by the New GPC but, no rent is being paid for its use, GINA added.