AFC demands government come clean on specialty hospital

The Alliance for Change (AFC) yesterday called on government

to come clean with the Guyanese taxpayers on the costs for the proposed Specialty Hospital project at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara.

During a press conference at Sidewalk Café, the party pointed out that in the 2011 Budget, an initial sum of $150M was provided for works that included a design of the hospital, even whilst financing for the project by the Government of India was being pursued.

  Before - New Amsterdam Hospital

After - under Bhar-rat Jagdeo & the PPPC 

Kaieteur News dated Thursday, December 30, 2010

“It was with shock and awe that on the 16th February, 2012, the Parliament of Guyana was told that not a cent of the original $150M was spent, and that no design has been done when Finance Minister, (Dr.) Ashni Singh was being grilled about the whooping $29.1M extra money (sic) for the project.”
According to the party’s senior official, Moses Nagamootoo, the additional $29M was sought as payment made from the Contingencies Fund sometime between October and December, 2011 (after Parliament was dissolved) for land preparation at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara for the hospital.
The money was already spent, Nagamootoo insisted.
“The remarks in the supplementary estimates were that the $29M represented “provision for mobilization payment on infrastructural works”,” he noted.
AFC’s leaders, Khemraj Ramjattan, Nagamootoo and David Patterson recently visited the proposed site at Turkeyen, not far from the University of Guyana road.
AFC said that not much work was done. There were 12 heaps of dirt, apparently deposited on the land after it was graded.
“At a far corner, there was a roller, tractor-trailer and a single heap of white sand…The AFC demands a forensic audit of how the $29M was spent, as the land preparation was clumsily executed, incomplete, and the land remains inundated…On 16th February, 2012 when the minority government asked Parliament to approve the expenditure, the AFC demanded reasonable explanations, which were not given, and so it voted against the approval.”

Nagamootoo said that immediately after the sitting, officials of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic  (PPP/C) and government leaders in a “propaganda blitz on state television/radio and newspapers”, attacked the AFC specifically and the opposition in general for allegedly sabotaging government’s developmental agenda.
“We were accused of voting against an Indian hospital in a frenzied and desperate campaign to whip up racism among the Indo-Guyanese population.”
The AFC has said that it has never opposed the proposed specialty hospital.

Minority government

“AFC voted for the initial $150M in last year’s budget for the project, whilst it was still in gestation.  Further, the AFC is on record in Parliament recently assuring the minority government that it would vote for any project, including the specialty hospital (Indian or otherwise), once reasonable explanations were given for money spent, or to be spent. In violation of the Constitution and applicable laws, no sensible or reasonable explanations were given for the $29M requested.”
The “infrastructural works” on the ground at Turkeyen have raised new concerns as to how $29M was spent, he said.
“What the AFC is opposed to is lack of accountability and transparency, squandermania, poor or no planning, waste of monies from donors’ community, projects tainted with perception of corruption… all of which could be raised with good reasons as we look at the “Dirty Dozen” heaps at the Turkeyen Site.”
The AFC insisted that as a significant political player, it will support any and all initiatives, plans and projects that are in the national interest and that will bring short-term and long-term relief to the Guyanese people, irrespective of their race, religion or creed.
“The PPP minority government has been caught with its pants down on the hospital project, and no amount of race-baiting and bottom-house, spit propaganda can hide its shame.”
Late last year, it was reported that Cabinet had awarded a contract to G. Bovell Construction Services to commence  preparatory works. This included the construction of fence, bridges, and gateways.
Government has said that the cost of complicated surgery will be at a fraction of the cost that Guyanese pay for surgeries overseas, but of the same quality.
The hospital is also expected to open its doors to clients from the Caribbean, Northern Brazil and even from North America, once the services offered are of excellent standards.
The Indian Government was approached some time ago where it was agreed that a line of credit will be used for the construction of the specialty hospital and Guyana would choose a partner from India to manage the facility.

Thursday, March 15, 2012