NEW GPC INC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Ranjisinghi Ramroop on Wednesday slammed a Stabroek News report captioned “NEW GPC mum on quotation for malaria drugs supply”, noting that the media entity is seeking to malign his company through the “malicious” article.
In a statement, Dr Ramroop said he was contacted by a reporter attached to Stabroek News at approximately 18: 22h on Tuesday. The reporter, he said, incredibly demanded information on why the company’s bid was higher than IPA’s.
According to Dr Ramroop, he informed the reporter that at the time he was not in a position to respond to the questions posed, and that a call should be returned to him the following day.
According to Dr Ramroop, the tender for the provision of anti-malarial drugs on which the two companies bid, was closed earlier on Tuesday, after which evaluations will have to be done and then submitted to Cabinet for approval or non-approval.
He explained that the tender was advertised for 10 anti-malarial products and the NEW GPC INC submitted its bid within the designated timeframe. He said the company was guided by the specificity of products requested and outlined in the bid document.
Dr Ramroop noted that it is highly unethical and unusual for a newspaper to call and question a bidder or its representative after working hours on the day of a bid submission. He said the reporter also admitted to not even reading the tender documents.
“At this juncture, the bidder cannot and should not comment on the bid since it is in the domain of the National Tender Board. In any event, there is no way the bidder would know of the particulars of a competing bid and hence cannot comment on any pricing discrepancy or any other pertinent matter,” the New GPC INC CEO said.
“The reporter was just trying to sensationalise an otherwise rather humdrum report. Why drag me in to compare my bid to another I couldn’t possibly know about?” Dr Ramroop questioned.
Vindictive attacks
The CEO believes that his company is being singled out for “vindictive attacks” by both Stabroek News and Kaieteur News, asserting that ever since his establishment of Guyana Times in 2008, the two newspapers persistently and viciously attacked his company. He noted that representatives of his company were present at the opening of the bid and observed 23 separate tenders being opened, but none of the others received prominent coverage as NEW GPC INC did.
“There were variations in the other categories of bids… but NEW GPC was singled out, why?” Dr Ramroop asked. He singled out Stabroek News Editor-in-Chief Anand Persaud, saying that the he knows personally about the bidding process. The CEO added that Stabroek News is on a “mission to destabilise his company”, as it is not the first time such issues have surfaced.
Dr Ramroop said his company is no fly-by-night company. “We conduct our business professionally and we will not be goaded to undermine the bidding process.” He added that NEW GPC INC has utmost respect for the tender board and the tender process as they have always acted professional in evaluating bids.
The NEW GPC INC is the Caribbean’s largest and oldest pharmaceutical manufacturer with a history dating back to the 1920s. The company has pioneered the local manufacture of anti-retrovirals for the treatment of HIV/ AIDS, Flumavir for the treatment of H1N1 Virus (Bird Flu), and a number of other finished formulations.
The company is also the manufacturer of Micronutrient Sprinkles and this programme was recently publicly praised by the U. S. Treasury Department. The company employs approximately 180 persons and is a major contributor to various social causes. NEW GPC INC is a private company and one of four local and international pre-qualified suppliers of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to the Health Ministry and Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
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