Dear Editor,
Last week I wrote His Excellency the President, offering some suggestions in connection with our flooding particularly in Georgetown and the contiguous areas.
I received a prompt, courteous and thankful reply from Cde. Irfaan Ali.
His letter pointed the way to the realization of cohesion and to arrest this polarization, which seems to be infecting and affecting our society.
I wish to compliment President Ali and the statesmanlike characteristic of his response, and I hope that this would be a good augury to improve relations between the Government and people.
But Dear Editor, I was in Barbados in the midst of the worst storm in fifty-five years, when I read a letter in Friday’s letter column written by Dr. Leslie Ramsammy. It dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Any sane, serious and sensible advocate must know that this matter concerns the health of every citizen and ought not to be the subject of partisan politics and hostile statements.
His verbal assault against Mr. Joseph Harmon, Leader of the Opposition and the likes of Dr. Haynes and others is certainly not helpful. That is, if this gentleman, Dr. Ramsammy who is not a qualified and trained medical practitioner really wishes to promote the use of the Sputnik V vaccines and encourage citizens to come forward to be vaccinated.
I challenge Dr. Ramsammy and his Minister of Health to give us figures since his outburst on the media on Friday of whether there has been an increase or decrease in persons showing up for the vaccine from Tain or Tempe, from Babu John to Bartica, let us have those figures since his letter last Friday.
As I understand it, and I speak for myself, and those who I have spoken with, all we ask for are clear and truthful answers to the following:-
Did Government contact the Russian Embassy in Georgetown to acquire the Sputnik V vaccine and if the request included the Governments of Russian and Guyana collaborating directly on this important issue?
Why were two middlemen, one from an Arab country and the other from a European country utilized to have this vaccine acquired?
Is it true that one of these middlemen is under the dark clouds questioning their integrity?
Why did we have to pay more for these vaccines than other persons and countries did?
The information acquired suggests that there are no questions that the authentic Sputnik V vaccines are of high quality and effective, but require storage from factory to user at a specific temperature.
Could Dr. Ramsammy say, if he can assure the public that the shipping arrangements and storage arrangements in Guyana satisfy the established criteria.
This vaccine for Guyanese is really a matter of life or death and even though I have been fully vaccinated, others to whom I speak require forthright answers from the establishments.
This abuse by Dr. Ramsammy is counter-productive and I look forward to the Minister and those in the top echelons of the administration to distance themselves from the unnecessary abuse of Joseph Harmon and others, who only as I now do ask for answers to the above.
If Dr. Ramsammy is the latest propaganda guru, I ask him to share the experience, myself and wife had recently.
We arrived in Barbados, last Monday and had the PCR Test done by trained Cuban technicians.
The technique was perfect and free to all in-coming passengers, not so at our airport, where travelers must pay sixteen thousand dollars ($16,000) for the same PCR Test
Dr. Ramsammy and who I assume he advises, if he needs to be helpful he would persuade the Guyana Government to do likewise and as aside there are certain drugs and pharmaceuticals, that are available in our neighbouring CARICOM countries that are still not available in Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Hamilton Green, OR
Elder
