The original article can be found in: Trinidad Express By Anika Gumbs
Questions are being asked about who authorised the Ministry of Health’s legal adviser, Bhabie Roopchand, to issue a ministerial directive to regional health authorities in the country to increase the sum for award of contracts from $750,000 to $5 million.
The directive has since been rescinded by permanent secretary Christine Sookram, and the value of contracts to be awarded has been revised to $1.5 million.
Roopchand, the Sunday Express learned, issued the letters to the four regional health authorities.
The permanent secretary is the accounting officer of the ministry and has sole responsibility for the drafting and issuing of letters relating to all financial matters.
The letters were sent to the South-West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA), Eastern Regional Health Authority, North-Central Regional Health Authority and North-West Regional Health Authority.
The Sunday Express learned an official at the SWRHA alerted Sookram to the June 6 letter, to seek clarification about the revised sum for the issuance of the award of contracts.
A copy of the letter was forwarded to Sookram for review.
The letter issued by Roopchand read: “I am instructed by the Honourable Minister of Health to advise that only contracts valuing over $5 million are to be forwarded to the ministry for approval prior to award. Accor-dingly, his previous cor-respondence on the issue is rescinded.
Notwithstanding, I am to inform that the ministry is to be notified on a quarterly basis of the award of contracts valuing above $1 million.”
The directive, the Sunday Express learned, was rescinded in July.
It could not be ascertained last week how contracts would have been funded.
Roopchand did not tell the Sunday Express why she opted to issue the letter instead of passing the information to Sookram when asked via text message yesterday.
She only responded to one text message when asked who authorised her to issue the letter: “The Minister of Health.”
However, Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan has distanced himself from the issuance of the letters.
Khan confirmed to the Sunday Express last Thursday that a discussion did take place relating to increasing the contract sum for the award of contracts at the regional health authorities (RHA).
However, the minister said he was unaware the directive was issued by Roopchand until the matter was brought to his attention by Sookram.
“I did have the discussion with the legal adviser to increase the sum for the award of the contracts by the RHAs. According to the RHA Act, the minister has specific control of the health authorities. I received complaints that jobs were not being done because the ministry was moving too slow to approve the contracts, so the legal adviser and I discussed increasing the sum.
“My permanent secretary is my accounting officer and she was uncomfortable with what she found out, so she rescinded the directive and reduced the amount to $1.5 million.
“The permanent secretary felt if the RHAs were given a cap of $5 million, they would run riot and there will be excessive spending.
“I am in my right to have those discussions with my adviser, but what happens after, I am not responsible. The legal adviser and the permanent secretary know the procedure because they have been there for several years. I am aware the permanent secretary is the accounting officer,” Khan said.
Sookram did not respond to telephone calls and text messages sent by the Sunday Express.
