An internal audit done at the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) has revealed a lack of appropriate approvals and payments of several million dollars to contractors over several years.
Chairman of the NCRHA, Dr. Tim Gopeesingh, revealed a number of major issues inherited from the previous Board and management of the RHA, including several million dollars recklessly spent on improperly awarded and inflated contracts. He cited weak oversight, and a lack of transparency and accountability.
“We inherited issues like janitorial contract. We were able to save at least $16 million approximately per year in janitorial contracts for one company and $2.4 million in another, $18 million. We saved over $3 million in ground maintenance. We saved $16 million in overtime. Overtime per year was about $90 million, well orchestrated within various departments so that overtime could be paid on a willy-nilly basis without any accountability. Almost $90 million was paid in overtime. We brought that down to about $15 million, $16 million.”
Dr. Gopeesingh said the NCRHA stands to save approximately $158 million through its initiatives.
“Since June 2025, we commissioned internal reviews. We initiated forensic and compliance
examinations. We examined contracts, payments, and approval trails. We engaged auditors and technical experts. And within the last five months, the Board has acted decisively in the context of what we met in terms of the financial quagmire and corruption.”
Dr. Gopeesingh noted that healthcare is not a privilege but rather a public trust. He said the savings will be spent on equipping the institutions and empowering staff, ensuring better healthcare delivery for the thousands of citizens accessing the hospitals, health centres, and other services within the NCRHA catchment.
“In the months ahead, we will continue forensic reviews, finalise audit findings, and regularise systems that were allowed to drift for far too long. The public will be updated in a structured and responsible manner. And we will have our public exercise in about three months’ time. Where matters warrant escalation, they will be escalated. So, our commitment is clear: transparency, accountability, delivery.”
The NCRHA Chair said the era of discipline, integrity, and patient-centred governance has begun, and the Board will report to the public as the work continues.