Did MoH CEO Dr. Peter Allen Lie to the Commission?

Once again my Lord, I believe that it should be noted for the record that changes to the preliminary recommendations of the Tender Committee were discussed, agreed, and signed off on by the members on the 5th of May 2008. – Dr. Peter Allen before Commission of Inquiry

Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Health Peter Allen is tonight the subject of some scrutiny, after testimony before the Commission by a career public officer on Wednesday indicated that he lied blatantly when he appeared before the Commission on Monday.

The discussion arose after testimony by the Deputy Auditor General Wayne Simon revealed that in many instances, CEO Peter Allen went against the recommendations of the Tender Committee and made his own choices of suppliers. In some cases it was reported that the result of the CEO’s decision resulted in inferior equipment being brought into the KHMH. Dr. Allen, in what has been called by members of the media more of a political soliloquy than testimony, outrightly refuted those claims, saying that in every instance changes from the preliminary recommendations of the Tender Committee were brought back to the table and discussed with the members of the committee before signing off.

But today Chief Pharmacist Sharon Snachez Anderson, who sits on the Tender Committee, gave testimony which indicates that CEO Allen lied to the Commission. According to Sanchez, ‘In the  09-10 tender process the process remained virtually the same in terms of the bids, the submissions, the creation of the documents but the results, the recommendations that were sent to the CEO, any changes that was made the committee was not consulted on that issue.”

Sanchez went on to state that the documents showing the decisions made by the CEO which were contrary to the recommendations of the Tender Committee were shown to her only after the contract had already been signed – “That final document was sent to us via email on April 2nd. Contracts were signed on April 1st…I know I didn’t see it and when I checked the other committee members said the same.”

The Commission of Inquiry reserves the right to recall witnesses at any time, and sources tell the Belize Times that Dr. Peter Allen has already made that short list.

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