…and pharma supply
Your Eyewitness was intrigued by a statement attributed to a Ms Beverly Harper, head of ANSA McAL’s local operations. She was pleased as the proverbial Punch that at long last ANSA McAL is playing on a “level playing field” to supply pharmaceuticals to Guyana’s public health system. Now let’s make one thing clear – ANSA is a Trinidadian company and your Eyewitness has one question for her.
Can the several Guyanese pharma companies also operating subsidiaries in T&T bid to supply pharma to the Trinidadian medical system? While she formulates her answer – which will take some doing since she knows it won’t go down well over here – let’s spare her the trouble with the answer that’s very simple – “NO!!!” Trinidad – like most other countries – favour local companies when it comes to filling Government contracts.
America, for instance, has always done that – and today, Trump’s clamping down in so many other areas to place “America first”. So right off the bat, for Ms Beverly to boast about “a level playing field”, it means our government’s placing Trinidad first. Your Eyewitness is all for regional solidarity and all that – but doesn’t charity begin at home? Our local pharma manufacturing companies, for instance, employ a large number of locals who pay taxes and have so many other positive externalities.
ANSA doesn’t manufacture a single line of pharma – it simply imports them and slaps on a big fat mark-up and passes them on to the Government. But we know where all of this is coming from, don’t we? Let’s call a spade a spade – it’s all about cutting the NEW GPC’s nose even though it means spiting Guyana’s face. The Minister of Health admitted they “locked out” that firm so that contracts could be given to other suppliers – who couldn’t deliver!
What the Minister didn’t realise, she was revealing the bidding process had to be subverted to lock out one specific company!! So it wasn’t just a matter of cancelling bids – contracts in the previous years were also doled out to “inside pharma” companies. Was ANSA part of this cabal that profited? But the larger question that the Government is ignoring when its operatives subvert the process like this is when will they begin to do what is best for Guyana – regardless of political and personal financial concerns?
In terms of capacity building, what purpose does it serve to undermine the largest manufacturer in this critical area of pharmaceuticals when we’re boasting about being independent for 50 years?
Even a level playing field might be OK…but one where the local player could’ve saved us 0 million is snubbed?
…and Wales workers
There’s this fella who insists on writing letters in this rotund style, as soon as your Eyewitness finishes the first line, he know who’s taking up column inches. And he moves on – knowing what’ll be said underseat the ornate verbiage. But this particular headline – “Wales workers should recognise the sacrifice of taxpayers and take up positions at Uitvlugt” – made your humble servant plod through to the bitter end. Maybe your Eyewitness missed something before?
The fella, who boasts about his exploits as a Master of the Universe from Wall St – doesn’t see anything wrong with the Wales cane cutters schlepping 30 miles to Uitvlugt and back! Does he think this is a commute on the LIRR from Fort Dix? Does he know what time that cane cutters’ wives will now have to get up? What time the cane cutters have to start cutting cane with the sun overhead?
Where was he when the levy from the cane cutters’ sweat subsidised the entire budget for three decades?
Are cane cutters not also the fella’s “brother”?
…and Phagwah
So whose Phagwah was observed more widely? More enthusiastically? More inclusively? Your Eyewitness figured the Sunday one had an advantage.
They gave the participants Monday as a holiday to sport “meat day”!!
