Chairman of the United Progressive Party (UPP), D Gisele Isaac, has joined others in saying that discussions on the arrival of 120 medical workers from Ghana should take place before any transition is implemented.
Isaac said there was no reference to the reported change in medical personnel in the Throne Speech, the Budget Presentation, or during the Budget Debate by either the Minister of Health or the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
She described the silence as troubling, particularly given the scale of the personnel shift and its implications for the public.
“To say nothing to the very people whom these new medics will be treating and who will be paying their salaries is not only disrespectful but suspicious,” she said.
Isaac also pointed to public unease stemming from previous experiences involving foreign workers and questioned why responsibility for explaining the change had been left to hospital officials rather than the Cabinet.
The UPP chairman said the process appeared to have been underway for some time, noting reports that interviews were conducted in Ghana months ago, and suggested that accommodation arrangements indicated prior Cabinet knowledge.
Isaac further questioned the lack of communication with taxpayers, saying, “We guess that the least important people — that is, the taxpayers — were not important enough to be told in advance.”
She also called on the relevant Cabinet Minister to clarify the status of scholarships traditionally granted by Cuba each year.
MP for St Philip’s South Sherfield Bowen also raised questions about the move not being discussed prior in Parliament or mentioned in the budget presentation or during the debate by the Minister of Health, calling the decision hasty and one made without proper consultation.
The MP raised questions about the credentials and competence of the incoming Ghanaian healthcare workers.
Bowen described the decision as heartless and ungrateful, questioning how the government will explain the move to Cuban officials and the medical professionals who have served Antigua and Barbuda.
