Dear Editor,
When journalism is at a level where investigative reporting becomes stagnated, it paves the way for politicians to be negligent, which eventually causes the entire country to suffer. Likewise, when there is a partially-functional Parliament, some ministers appear to be geniuses, while they are in fact, just testing the intelligence of parliamentarians and the public in general.
Every time the population is faced with issues that demand the attention of government, some ministers conveniently choose to pass the buck to their colleagues, or even offer words of sympathy, just to take the spotlight off them. This practice is commonplace for Social Affairs Minister Emil Lee. In the beginning, I was really impressed with his determination to see a new hospital realized. The approach that he took was different and appeared to be of a sincere nature. But when I pondered on the Minister’s relentless pursuit of something that was not his initiative, then it raises some unsettling questions.
Why would a minister neglect the rest of his portfolio and race to complete a project that was never a part of his initial vision? Nothing is wrong with the physical structure of the hospital. What’s lacking are more sophisticated equipment and highly-skilled professionals, to meet the needs of the patients. In terms of the building itself, the hospital in the North is not one that is considered state-of-the-art. Yet, the Minister is seeking continued collaboration, to avoid duplicating equipment and cut cost. So, is it the building that determines the quality of care or having modernized tools and competent human resources?
With this in mind, who will benefit the most in this consistent push to build a new hospital? Viewing the scenario from various angles, there is a lot more to this persistence, than what meets the eye. In addition, every time the Minister travels, he enquires about medical care in that specific country and the cost for sending patients there. Just the other day, it was the Cayman Islands; one of the, if not the most expensive territories in the entire Caribbean. What is the real reason behind these enquiries? Why can’t the focus be shifted towards investing in new equipment and medical specialists?
In last week’s press briefing, Minister Lee proudly publicized the success of his fieldwork. The Minister feels that he has accomplished a lot, but this exercise has only revealed his lack of interest in dealing with the social issues that are plaguing the country. This should have been his priority from the get go. Instead, he wasted more than a year talking about building a new hospital that is nowhere in sight. In all his travelling abroad, I cannot recall that Minister Emil Lee has ever returned to this country and given an account of matters affecting the handicapped, youth, seniors, labour affairs or how to reduce poverty. How come he has never had this interest, but tries to convince the public that he cares by building a new hospital?
What about the jobless, due to this discriminatory and broken labour system that supports only the elitists? Did the Minister control any of the employment agencies? Here is where a lot of the ills have originated. So, how long will this so-called noise of compliance last? It is only because the Minister came under fire on February 15th that this drive for compliance is set in motion. Prior to that, he had no interest in curbing the evils that are affecting this society. All we are getting from the Minister is pretty talk and no action to stifle this persistent rat race!
Another thing, Minister Lee has never been forthcoming with a full response. He always gives partial answers about a particular issue, until he is pressured to complete the story. This reaction has occurred on several occasions. Then it calls to question how much does this Minister really value the matter of transparency and integrity? Speaking of transparency: Was it the Minister’s decision to select the recently-appointed mediators or was it one of his colleagues in the Council of Ministers? Furthermore, how come these mediators were hand-picked, as opposed to the vacancies being advertised?
This is how the matters of integrity and transparency are being used conveniently, just to accommodate certain politicians. It is time that the public faces the harsh reality of understanding that the heart is what guides the action of this Minister and every other politician!
Joslyn Morton
