BIS Healthcare and its pricipal Bruno Gomes will not be granted new contracts, financed by the World Bank, from October 2004 to October 2008, the World Bank reported.
"The World Bank announced the debarment for four years of one individual and one firm for fraudulent practices in relation to the World Bank-financed "Croatia Health System Project"(CHSP). This firm and the individual will be ineligible to receive any new World Bank-financed contracts for the periods of their debarments. These actions are part of the World Bank"s broad anticorruption efforts initiated by President James Wolfensohn in 1996," reads a press release issued on the World Bank's web site.
"BIS Healthcare and its principal, Mr. Bruno Gomes, were sanctioned for failure to comply with the Consultant Guidelines. The experience and qualifications of the principal as well as the qualifications and certifications of BIS Healthcare were misrepresented. The Sanctions Committee found fraudulent practice in the numerous misrepresentations in the contractor"s proposal" it added.
"The Croatia Health System Project was designed to enhance Croatia"s capacity to achieve a more efficient, effective, and financially sustainable health system in the medium term. The CHSP consists of several components such as health services delivery, public health, pharmaceutical waste disposal, system-wide initiatives, and project management. The CHSP is financed through a $29 million IBRD loan and its expected closing date is June 30, 2005. The assignment of BIS Healthcare was originally to provide consulting services to assist in the integration of a pilot health services component in Koprivnica-Krizevci County under the CHSP project. The contract between the (Croatian) Ministry of Health and BIS Healthcare was signed on March 27, 2001 for a total amount of US$ 2.42 million and expired on September 27, 2002. At that time, due to delays in the implementation, only half of the original amount in the contract had been disbursed to BIS Healthcare" the press release read.
World Bank Country Director Anand Seth was cited as saying that he welcomed the ruling. Seth said "The World Bank is committed to making sure the money invested in this project results in a better health care for the people of Croatia. The sanctions we have taken against this contractor show our readiness to safeguard the procurement process in Bank-funded projects and to support better quality health care services in Croatia."