-questions why similar sentiments were not made about Cubans
HEALTH Minister, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran yesterday refuted assertions by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Member of Parliament, Carl Greenidge that his (Ramsaran’s) 2012 budget debate presentation cited racial tendencies on the part of the APNU member.
The minister said that during his budget presentation on Thursday, he mentioned the assistance by Cuba to the Guyana Government with the provision of about 70 Cuban medical personnel to man the five diagnostic hospitals built, but noted that the naysayers never sought to condemn that Cubans were going to re-colonise Guyana.
Greenidge yesterday, with the approval of the Speaker of the National, Raphael Trotman; was given the opportunity to speak, saying that the Health Minister was seeking to imply racial inclinations on behalf of opposition supporters.
“I was referring to Hamilton Green, but then the Speaker told me I cannot refer to Green without a specific source, which is the letter he penned attacking the hospital because we are bringing in an Indian team,” Dr. Ramsaran told the Government Information Agency (GINA).
He inquired why the anti-government critics would seek to discredit the presence of Indians who will man the Specialty Hospital, when Cubans were in their entirety manning all the diagnostic hospitals.
Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green, in a letter in the Kaieteur News, had asked whether it was a move by the Administration to re-colonise Guyana, stating that the specialty hospital would be staffed by Indian Nationals.
“With the specialty hospital in Guyana, ailing Guyanese won’t need to travel overseas for corrective operations. The specialty hospital will benefit Guyanese, not Indian nationals or India,” Minister Ramsaran said.
The National Budget has made special provision of $672M for the construction of the specialty hospital which is a joint effort between the Governments of Guyana and India, with a line of credit from the latter.