Dear Editor,
I listened with some disquiet, the announcement by the Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, that there is a proposal to have established at a location outside of the city, a specialist hospital to be staffed by Nationals from India.
Earlier, Former President Jagdeo told us that this Hospital would be funded through a line of credit from the Government of India, but Dr. Luncheon’s statements seem inconsistent with that earlier announcement by former President Jagdeo.
Guyanese ought to be concerned that $97M dollars is being laid out by the Government for the preparation of the land on which this hospital is to be built.
There are a number of worrying features of these announcements made at Christmas time when our citizens and even our politicians are busy with the Yuletide Season.
First, I am a little disappointed that we’ve heard nothing which suggests that this venture was discussed with the purported patriotic executive members of the Private Sector, nor the administrators of the several local hospitals, Davis Memorial, Balwant Singh, St. Joseph Mercy, Prasad’s, Woodlands, Medical Arts, etc, to ascertain whether this massive sum being provided by Government could not have been better utilized to upgrade any of these local medical institutions, to provide a similar service.
We’ve not heard from Government, what is the value and size of this land, and exactly where the specialist hospital is to be built, but what is now troubling, is we’ve heard from the HPS that this hospital will be staffed entirely by Nationals from India, so what is going on?
Will this service be free or subsidized? If subsidized how and by who? Will Guyanese and others who use the facility have to pay normal medical fees? And if so who will be the beneficiaries and how will that help the economy, and the ordinary poor people of this country, who sometimes die or are permanently disabled because they lack the financial resources to pay the hefty fees for medical services.
Finally if this is to be a Specialist Hospital, staffed by Indian Nationals, are we to understand according to Dr. Luncheon that there is no training component, and therefore is this facility being set up to move monies generated here, and elsewhere out of Guyana?
We obtained independence in 1966. Is this a move for some sort of recolonization?
Those of us old enough will remember the effort by the PPP in the early 1960’s to bring in a large number of persons from the Communist State of Keraia in India. Is this a retooling of that plan?
It is safe to assume that these Indian Nationals would wish to repatriate their earnings – where will that leave us, and do not be surprised if they have already been promised certain tax concessions.
The whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Yours faithfully
Hamilton Green, J.P.,
Mayor
