…with the mess in health?
Oh…what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive! And God knows the government’s been doing better than Spiderman with their lies to the Guyanese people from the moment they snuck into office …and gave themselves a 50 per cent raise. They’re not “practicing” any more…APNU/AFC are now experts in the art of deception!
It’ll make you dizzy, dear reader, if your Eyewitness were to regale you with even 1/1000 of what they’ve slipped over on us. So let’s just discuss one whopper that’s risen to the top of their ocean of sins: in the health sector. The lies in this area are so odious, of course, not just because of the money – which is nothing to sneeze at! – but because of people dying like flies from pharma-shortages caused by greed for that money.
The rental of the pharma Albuoystown warehouse – which wasn’t a warehouse, but a bottom house – was never reversed. Larry Singh’s still collecting G$12.5 MILLION every month but pharma’s still stored and shipped from the Government’s warehouse at Diamond. Even though the East Bank highway is even more congested than ever!! The PM’s nose must be reaching to Berbice by now!!
But it’s the shocker on the G$632 million pharma contract that was given to the Trini firm, ANSA that takes the cake. First were the firm denials that there were shortages of critical pharma in the country – after contracts weren’t issued for bidding – but just cancelled time and again. Suddenly – surprise! surprise! – there was an “emergency” and the GHPC bigwigs bypassed their Board and Tender Board gave the contract to ANSA – and revealed it only AFTER the goods arrived in Guyana!!
After a lot of hemming and hawing, the GHPC Board fired a few folks including the CEO but it was clear that there were a lot of other heads than needed to roll. Well, it took months for the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) to be established; more months for it to look into the ANSA scam but finally it came back and confirmed that “laws were broken”. Well if laws are broken involving G$632 million, you’d expect action, wouldn’t you? Well, not necessarily!
After all, a CoI looking into other frauds in pharma confirmed: “The Permanent Secretary (of the Health Ministry) was willfully deceptive in his testimony when questioned by the Board of Inquiry and he made inconsistent and deceptive statements during his testimony.” But guess what, the fella was just discovered to be “the Coordinator of the Maternal and Child Health Improvement Project.”
Imagine that – he was promoted!! And the web widens – to catch more loot!!
…that Police Reform is on again?
“The British are coming! The British are coming!!” That, of course, was the midnight cry of Paul Revere as he rode through the New England towns after the American colonies had declared Independence in 1776. Of course, he didn’t actually scream the words since that would’ve let the cat out of the bag to the Brits! Longfellow’s poetic licence and all that.
Well over in in THIS former British colony which WAS GIVEN its independence 190 years after the Americans fought for theirs, the Government has just announced the Brits are coming to reform our Police Force. They’d offered once before, of course, but the then PPP Administration objected to elements of the plan on the grounds it interfered with our “sovereignty”.
Now ironically, “sovereignty” is one of those words we learnt from the Brits and it’s a word they hold dear. You can do whatever you want to a Brit, but don’t mess with his “sovereignty”.
So did our Government big up the sanctity of OUR sovereignty?
…for dear old Queens field
If the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton, then we hope this Government realises they can’t keep dallying with the playing fields of Queens.
The battle of Exxon is nigh upon us!!