Mark claims: Saith, Kangaloo had to fly or die

Even as he welcomed them back to the Senate, Opposition MP Wade Mark used the fact that Government ministers Dr Lenny Saith and Christine Kangaloo had sought medical attention abroad as ammunition to denigrate the delivery of health care services in Trinidad and Tobago. Mark was piloting a private motion, seeking to have the Regional Health Authority Amendment Order revoked. He said Prime Minister Patrick Manning was “playing Caribbean Santa Claus,” handing out gifts to his Caricom partners while basic health care services were absent in the country.

“That is why Saith and Kangaloo had to migrate. Because if they remained here they would surely perish,” Mark said. Kangaloo had been on extended sick leave since September while Saith has been away for a little over one month. Mark said he missed them both and was glad to see them back. “We make no distinction when it comes to sickness. We all have to care for each other,” he said. Mark however spent most of his contribution attacking Health Minister John Rahael, who, he said, was taking the health services “back to douendom.”

Mark said all over the wold governments were rationalising and merging health institutions, while Rahael was creating more health organisations. Mark also slammed NH International saying that a letter from Stantec International , (the supervising consultant on the Scarborough Hospital ) showed that NH was “thiefing” materials from the Scarborough site and was submitting unsubstantiated claims for payment. Yet NHIC had the audacity to take NIPDEC to the International Court of Arbitration.