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Today we finally got a chance to speak to Health Minister Pablo Marin about the proposed 1.6 million dollar project to construct a Central Medical Stores building in Belmopan. This building would replace the current warehouse in Ladyville. 

Marin and his CEO George Gough were seeking to get the cash from the NHI fund - which currently has a surplus. 

As we have reported, the Senior Finance Officer Artemio Osorio sent a memo to the Health CEO, Gough stating that the Ministry of Finance has "no objection" to the project. Sounds simple enough right ? Nope. Quite the contrary. That's because money from the NHI fund, which is managed by the SSB, can't be used to construct this building, it is there for NHI related expenses. Second, the Ministry of Finance has no power over it; it's administered by the Social Security Board.  

So why would Health Minster Marin and CEO Gough even try to get funding from this reserve ? The media questioned him on it today and he said that, in his view, there is no harm or foul in going around hat in hand.

Hon. Pablo Marin - Health Minister
"We have been renting for so long here in Ladyville. It is costing us $6,000 every month for the past 11 years I have been there we have been renting. The location is a low lying location, the rent is about to expire on us so we need to move it to a central location which is Belmopan, now it is easy to look at it whenever you want to do your own facility first you need to have the plans, you need to do the estimate, you need to carry on all that is needed to have that in place, the second thing is you need to find out where the fundings are. Now the NHI, I need to clarify, NHI funds is not from the SSB funds, SSB which is social security they are the ones managing those funds. We have about a 3 million dollars in reserves so what we wanted to do when we did all of that consultation and what we needed for us to be able to get the funds we did ask the prime minister can we use the funds, we did not go and say we want the funds. We wanted to find a source where we can do a new CMS."

Reporter
"I think the prime minster claimed he did not know about it."

Hon. Pablo Marin
"No no, he didn't claim in the sense you know what is happening with this, remember we did all what we needed to do for us to get the estimate and to get the proposal for it. When we took it to the PM, the PM had to have ask SSB if that possible."

Reporter
"SSB says they didn't know anything about it either."

Hon. Pablo Marin
"No but that was at that time, if I do not take the estimate or proposal, I did not take the proposal to none of them. I asked them before, can I do this and they said you can't do this so they haven't received that proposal. So you have to understand. I am still looking at funds for me to be able to do that warehouse in Belmopan and I will continue to look at it because I believe that we should stop paying rent and have our own facility."

Courtney Weatherburne
"The prime minister said that the ministry of health should not have made that application, with that from the prime minister will you still apply for the funds?"

Hon. Pablo Marin
"No, the applications to SSB, we can't apply to SSB because they have their own terms."

Reporter
"MOH officials would have known that you can't get no money from the fund for the construction of a building any at all."

Hon. Pablo Marin
"But remember we are just trying to find allocations of where we can do the building."

Reporter
"And speaking about due diligence though as you spoke to earlier."

Hon. Pablo Marin
"But remember we have not reached, we have not taken any documents to SSB or the prime minster we are just trying to see where we can allocate the funds."

Courtney Weatherburne
"But knowing that the NHI funds can't be used to construct or do this project, why bother in the first place?"

Hon. Pablo Marin
"No but remember we have to try to find the funds. We have to ask them and they went and said you know what you can't use it so there is nothing wrong about trying to find the fund. I do not see anything wrong."

Reporter
"Sir Dr. Gough was in charge of the NHI funds when he moved over to the ministry, did you seek his guidance when he went over to your ministry."

Hon. Pablo Marin
"Dr. Gough just came into work he did not see anything wrong also because both of us wanted to see a warehouse that is centrally located."

Reporter
"What do you say to the assertion in some quarters, the assertion is that had this memo not been leaked this thing would have run smoothly and no one would have known anything about it, any at all."

Hon. Pablo Marin
"No let's put it this way, if I had sent the proposal to SSB, SSB would have looked at it and sent me their letter saying you know what minister, sorry the funds can't be used for this particular purpose that is it."

So it is safe to say, the medical store in Belmopan will NOT be constructed with money from the NHI fund. But Marin says he will continue to knock on all doors, including several banks, to get the funds for this project.