Rahael not peeved over Inquiry into health sector

HEALTH MINISTER John Rahael yesterday dismissed UNC claims that a Commission of Inquiry into the nation’s public health services was “an insult” to him and also questioned his competence as Minister. Prime Minister Patrick Manning announced the creation of this Commission in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. “I don’t see any insult,” Rahael pointedly told Newsday. The Minister said he was supportive of any initiative which would improve the quality of health care provided to the population and many people had skewed perceptions of what was the true purpose of commissions of inquiry.

Panday said he wondered at Manning’s decision to launch a commission of inquiry into the operations and delivery of the nation’s public health services, asking if this was an indictment of Health Minister John Rahael’s performance. Meanwhile, Panday also declared that the UNC will support passage of the Police Reform Bills in Parliament once Government was ready to discuss the crime of discrimination in Trinidad and Tobago. In an address to the nation on Wednesday night, acting Attorney General Camille Robinson-Regis called on the UNC “to put country first and demonstrate its responsibility to the national community by giving its full support to these legislative instruments.” She said it was Panday speaking in Parliament on July 13, 2001 (then as prime minister) who stressed that the Bills should be enacted “as a matter of urgency.”

However Panday declared that he was sticking to his guns and Robinson-Regis’ statement shows that discrimination is a major crime against the people of TT. He said the UNC was willing to discuss crime with the Government but for some reason, Government appears reluctant to talk about discrimination. The UNC leader stressed that discrimination in the Police Service must be addressed, otherwise the police will never be able to fight crime effectively.