More bloated pharmaceutical contracts surface

And still on the contracts, there is more information available about medical suppliers to the K.H.M.H. News Five has obtained a copy of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies Tender of the Evaluation Committee Procedural Report, which was to be tabled to Cabinet on March thirty-first of this year. Three suppliers stand out. The matter was first raised in the House of Representatives last Friday by Leader of the Opposition, John Briceño, who alleged that the Ministry knowingly ignored recommendations from the Tendering Committee and chose to award contracts to politically connected friends among the Ministry’s top brass.

The three transactions that have come under close scrutiny are those involving Commerce Limited, owned by Jose, Shelly and Christopher Viva of Cleghorn Street, J.D.B. Limited, and Belmopan Medical Lab, reportedly owned by Ernesto Franco, who has been described as a close friend of the Minister of Health.

The information available shows that two of the three procurements were worth almost two million dollars each and in the case of J.D.B., almost a million dollars. When the purchases were actually made, however, the amounts changed significantly. While the Minister and his C.E.O., Dr. Peter Allen were at this evening’s meeting, neither had any comment to offer.