New $40M Port Mourant Hospital...

FROM PAGE 3 extend services and make them accessible to different areas, Minister Anthony said contracts had been awarded for the construction of three new health centers in Mara, Chesney, and Gangaram, where for many years these residents have had to access services outside of their communities, but will soon be able to access services closer to them.

He also announced that construction at Skeldon Hospital would commence soon and, upon completion would have 24-hour access to accident and emergency services, modern imaging, CT scans, 75 in-patient beds, two major operating theatres and one minor operating theatre, and laboratory services, among others. Six such modern facilities will be built across the country, complementing the services currently being offered.

Meanwhile, Doctor in Charge of the Port Mourant Hospital Dr Ghanshaam Sukhdeo noted the sole purpose of the facility is to be better able to provide a service that is efficient and adequate for all patients to benefit; a service that is separate and independent where a patient does not have to wait for a doctor tending to an emergency in the A&E.The previous outpatient unit was entwined with the hospital’s A&E and would often be overcrowded with long waiting times, which often led to frustration for the patients. The availability of the new force majeure may suffice to accommodate that failure, it does not suffice as a rationale for the effective extension of Raghubir’s tenure to what would potentially be nine and a half years.

This is an absurdity that flies blatantly against the plain meaning of the letter, as well as the spirit, of the GPA Constitution – in any basic understanding of that meaning, no GPA President should serve beyond six years, with articles 15.1 and 15.3 of the Constitution meant to be read conjunctively.

Constitutionally-enshrined term limits constitute standard best practice governance, whether we are speaking about the presidency of a country, or the presidency of an entity that purports to hold the presidency of a country accountable.

The undercurrents of the GPA elections have caused a partisan stir online, with supporters of Team Marks and Team Raghubir throwing accusations of bias and clandestine control against each other. All that, in my humble estimation, is moot.

What is at stake here is whether, post-elections, the Association can credibly call either government or opposition out on fundamental issues of good governance, something that it cannot do if the current President remains in office beyond January 2024 under any circumstance.

There are only two ethical and likely legal pathways out of this crisis, with the first being fairly easy; the incumbent stands down and allows Marks and any other would-be candidate to finish the race.

The second is to contest the race with the explicit commitment that if she wins, she will demit office in January of 2024 after holding an election in which she is not a candidate, allowing her to serve her constitutionally warranted six years and preserving the spirit and letter of the term restriction.

Nothing constitutionally prevents her from being part of the Management Council from 2024 to 2026 and seeking reelection again in 2026.

The current absurdly anonymous voters in the upcoming elections do not have two candidates before them – what they have is the preservation of the already strained integrity of the organisation versus the removal of any vestige of the sort of institutional integrity the organisation needs to act as a bona fide representative of the interests of the Fourth Estate.

Regards, Ruel Johnson

outpatient clinic will reduce the waiting time and reduce overcrowding.

Moreover, a new outpatient department will provide a range of benefits for patients such as continuity of care, whereby patients can receive follow-up appointments to monitor their progress or manage chronic conditions, ensuring they receive the appropriate care and support needed.

Also in attendance were the Mayor of Rose Hall Town, Dave Budhu and Secretary of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce, Katherine Prasad, who both applauded the valuable and much-needed investment by the government.