By Staff Reporter
Almost four months after the end of a two month MOH training for out of town doctors and nurses, the small businesses that propped up the Ministry of Health’s operations are still waiting for their money. The Guyana Emergency Medicine Authority (GEMA), a department under the Ministry of Health, stands accused of a breathtaking display of disregard for the very small business owners it is supposed to serve, leaving a trail of unpaid bills totaling an estimated $15 million.
Reports reaching this publication paint a picture of an agency that has gone silent on its obligations, showing a level of contempt for local vendors that is as baffling as it is infuriating. In a nation that proudly touts itself as an oil-producing powerhouse, the ministry’s refusal to pay its bills is not just an embarrassment, it is a disgrace.
The saga began in June when GEMA hired several vendors to accommodate and support out-of-town medical staff. Services included rental accommodation, daily meals and snacks, juice and coconut water, transportation via buses and cars, and the rental of tables, chairs, and tents. The staff moved into a rented house in June and left in August. To date, none of the vendors have been paid a single cent.
Vendors were told they would be paid between the first and second week of July. They received nothing but a bureaucratic runaround, being told each month that the “tender board” must meet. That was months ago. Now, the agency has simply gone silent. No contact. No answers. No money.
According to a local business executive, “These are not faceless corporations. They are small businesses, the backbone of our economy. They provided meals for two months, supplied juice and coconut water for over three months, and moved medical staff around the country. They did their part. They held up their end of the bargain. The government has failed to hold up theirs. What exactly is going on?”
The Real Cost of Non-Payment
The impact of this staggering delinquency goes far beyond a single unpaid invoice. Outstanding receivables are the silent killer of small businesses. When a large entity like GEMA refuses to pay, it directly suffocates the vendor’s cash flow. These businesses still have to pay their own staff, their suppliers, their rent, and their utility bills. They cannot tell their employees to wait for the tender board to meet.
This cash flow crunch means they cannot take on new jobs, invest in their operations, or plan for growth. In the worst-case scenario, it means they cannot survive. Every day that GEMA withholds payment is another day these businesses inch closer to collapse. The government is not just failing to pay a bill; it is actively strangling the lifeblood out of the local private sector.
A member of the business community, speaking on the condition of anonymity, was blunt: “This is not a bureaucratic delay; it is a systemic disrespect for small businesses. They call us the backbone of the economy, but when it’s time to pay for services rendered, they treat us like a nuisance. How can we be expected to grow and hire when the largest entity in the country, the one with the most revenue, is our worst debtor? It’s an absolute shame.”
Where Are the Voices of GCCI and PSC?
This brings us to the deafening silence from the very organizations tasked with championing the cause of the private sector. Where is the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI)? Where is the Private Sector Commission (PSC)? The GCCI and PSC are often the first to issue press releases on policy and economic trends. Why are they silent when dozens of their members are being crippled by the government’s own non-payment?
Their silence is not just puzzling; it is complicit. While they lobby for large-scale investment and policy changes, their base, the small and medium-sized enterprises, are bleeding. At a time when the Guyana Development Bank is being pitched to small businesses as a new frontier of opportunity, why is the entity with the most revenue in the country strangling them? It is a profound contradiction.
Shame on This Government
GEMA’s leadership, including Deputy Medical Director Balram Doodnauth, Operations Manager Ron Morris, and Administrative Manager Elizabeth Francis, have been contacted repeatedly. They have the names. They have the invoices. They have the authority to approve payments. The question is simple: why are they not paying?
Surely, the Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, is not aware of this embarrassment. Surely, he would not tolerate an agency under his watch treating local businesses with such disdain. If he is aware, then he is failing in his duty. If he is not, he needs to find out immediately and put an end to this fiasco.
This is a government that proclaims its commitment to development and prosperity. But prosperity cannot be built on a foundation of unpaid bills and broken promises. An oil-producing nation has no excuse to treat its small business owners this way.
Pay the vendors. Now!
