By Troy Torres
(Tumon, Guam) The government of Guam is paying Bic Sobti, owner of Royal Bics, $100 per box of 50 generic blue and white face masks that retail at Cost U Less for $19.99; Dewan Enterprises for $25; Benson for $29.88; and KMart for $39.99.
These face masks primarily are provided by the mayors to senior citizens, according to Sinajana Mayor Robert Hoffman.
The mayors offices of Guam were told they are able to procure these face masks from this particular vendor after the start of the public health emergency. Mayors offices submit their requests to Royal Bics.
Kandit was sent a purchase order for the face masks from one of the mayors's offices dated April 6 for boxes of 50 face masks per box. The total amount to be paid to Royal Bics indicates the boxes were sold for $100 each.
Mr. Hoffman confirmed the cost to Kandit News.
The government of Guam has been seizing several other merchants's supplies of protective face masks upon shipment to Guam. These face masks and other supplies to protect people against COVID-19 infection are pending release from the director of public health, Linda DeNorcey.
This is an interesting story, one that leads to lots of other questions. 1) The April 6 Purchase Order is a “snapshot in time” of supply and demand. On that date, just three weeks in to the pandemic crisis (US and Guam) there was a critical shortage of masks the world over. https://qz.com/1836203/face-masks-for-coronavirus-hit-us-prison-become-70-percent-pricier-overnight/ Since then face mask production has been ramped up the world over and supply increased to better meet demand. It begs the QUESTION: What were Cost U Less, Dewan, Benson, and K-Mart charging for face masks on April 6? I want to see an apples to apples comparison, please confirm that all price quotes in the article are from April 6. 2) Mayor’s were told “…
Nice to see this administration taking one straight from Trump and Jared Kushner playbook. Follow the money.
WTF?!?