Dear Editor,
Following a meeting of our Parliament on the future of our new hospital and a settlement reached between our Government, SMMC, SZV and Vamed I believe it to be a good and timely intervention. If we recall the amount of lawsuits Government had against them and the win-lose ratio we know we didn’t stand a ghost of a chance in winning this one either. And, at the end of the day besides blaming the civil servant for whatever went wrong we continue to bog down the next generation insurmountable fiscal abyss.
To hold up the process and progress of the project will undoubtedly result in cost overruns based on inflation and added mobilization and what is referred to as unforeseen charges. So cutting our losses at a given juncture makes good sense. What Parliament didn’t delve into is besides the medical specialist that we would need and hope to attract is the amount of additional nurses we would need and why we are not using this period to start training our young men and women for this.
This is to avoid the inexcusable situation of being told later we don’t have what SMMC needs so we have to import foreign labour. It’s truly not rocket science. I further fail to see any real innovative or creative plans in the new Government Program to insure delivery on the many campaign promises. I believe that it is in this day in age for anyone holding four to five portfolios to give all of them the same attention and, furthermore, setting priorities simply means some will fall by the wayside.
It would make good sense since we have agreed though ill-advised not to appoint junior ministers to share the workload it might be a good idea for the minister to have an expert in the field advising on the various portfolios to ensure we don’t continue every four years with promise after promise that is never kept because of insufficient funding pre-set priorities or ignorance of the intricacies of the portfolio.
Not knowing is no shame but failure to seek the expertise in the community shows a lack of leadership also it doesn’t mean recycling old party supporters who are not competent in the subject matter or making super humans out of some people who have contributed little to nothing by making them directors and board members of more than one company or department.
This is definitely and untenable situation and a different approach is needed to dislodge our mind from an old political modus operandi. Our people have a right to expect more because they are the ones who are called upon to tighten their belts when there is a financial or budgetary crunch and they can’t, for the love of God, understand why things are not being done that seem elementary because we allow the European master to set the goals on whets important for us.
The way forward doesn’t lie in our great speeches or our many trips and meetings abroad – the difference lies right here. When all those unemployed, underemployed poor and needy in society can see and feel some kind of relief we are on the road to true and humane government for all. It simply means the captain (PM) must adjust his course and tighten the main sails.
After all we have suffered enough while all others in this society know nothing of unemployment and thanks to Minister Lee we now know that large properties are importing nationals from Peru and Mexico and others to work illegally for less, while our people continue to cry out for jobs. Captain, it is up to you less you be demoted or fired and that my friend will be up to the people going forward.
Elton Jones
