Govt looking at ‘options’ to continue Specialty Hospital project

Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran said the Specialty Hospital project is still “alive”, noting that the ministry will have to go back to the drawing board and find “innovative ways to continue the initiative”.
The combined opposition, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) last week cut the Gy$1.25 billion allocated for the hospital during the consideration of the estimates for the Health Ministry.

Speaking with Guyana Times International in a recent interview, Dr Ramsaran said “we have to do our jobs very diligently now, since we have been distracted by this engagement in Parliament and then move on with Surendra.”
He noted that the ministry is currently seeking legal advice on the way forward and pointed out that now that the project has been cut, whatever work is outstanding from the Gy$746 million which was paid to Surendra Engineering from the loan provided by EXIM Bank, will have to be examined.
He explained that documents submitted to the ministry will be analysed to allow the ministry to do “certain things” before it signs on to any design of the building.
The hospital is expected to create over 700 jobs in various fields, and enable Guyanese the opportunity to undergo certain complex, critical procedures right in Guyana, which would otherwise require them to travel overseas.
The hospital is anticipated to provide services such as cardio, cosmetic, and organ transplant surgeries. Originally, the building was being mapped to accommodate 100 beds; however the government requested Indian contractor Surendra Engineering to build the facility to accommodate 108.
Dr Ramsaran posited that the hospital will enable Guyana to be more competitive with its neighbours, in terms of providing specialised services, noting that it will cater for persons from the Caribbean and further afield as well.
Turning his attention to AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan, whose party moved the motion for the allocation to the hospital be slashed, the health minister said: “I have noted the bitterness in his voice.”
He posited that the opposition parties are trying to misinform and confuse the public, noting that APNU Member of Parliament (MP) Carl Greenidge, whom he said is the most informed about the contracts, asked him (Dr Ramsaran) to come clean, when he had already done so.

The minister noted that despite providing answers to questions, Greenidge disclosed that there were plans to cut the funds even before the minister made his case, “So the cut would’ve happened despite the best discussion we would have given”.
Dr Ramsaran believes too the allocation for the project was cut because it is the brainchild of former President Bharrat Jagdeo.
The motion to remove the allocation was tabled by Ramjattan, who is the lawyer for Fedders Lloyd, one of the companies which failed to win the bid for the Specialty Hospital.  Questions have been asked as to whether the move to cut the funding was aimed at appeasing his client.
Dr Ramsaran last Wednesday in defence of the project, posited that Gy$4.3 million has already been spent to prepare the site, aid in preliminary site clearance, build reinforced concrete cover and drain and rehabilitate an eastern parameter fence, among other activities.
Jagdeo had initiated the hospital project following a visit to India. He explained that the country would embark in the direction of medical tourism, whereby persons from across the world would travel to Guyana to access critical health services offered at the hospital.