Dear Editor,
It is an undisputed fact that I have written exhaustively on various issues with regard to Dr Ramayya, the Regional Executive Officer of Region 6 during the 2015 general elections period.
He has been my nemesis for a long time, but I will not stand by and remain quiet when he is being attacked simply because he has shown the much needed political will to fight corruption and malpractices within Region 6. This is the political will which is so lacking in this country, and that is the reason why this country will never see the kind of socio-economic progress which there should be, given the huge amounts of resources which are being expended on a daily basis. I will openly support his cause since it is a just one.
Many politicians will give their party members the benefit of the doubt when it comes to charges of corruption, cronyism, incompetence and lack of accountability, and it is a breath of fresh air to find a politician who is not willing to do that. This is the first REO who has the courage for that and he must be commended.
Dr Ramayya has shown that he is willing to expose the various aspects of corruption within the Region, especially when it comes to single-sourced contracts being given to contractors who charge exorbitant sums for substandard work. For instance, a contractor was given $2.1 million to empty septic tanks at an exorbitant cost of $110,000 dollars for one, whereas the normal rate is around $40,000. In addition, it is alleged that the contractor disposed of the filth by burying it in the New Amsterdam Hospital Compound and the Regional Health Officer had to be called in. Dr Ramayya refused to pay the contractor.
Dr Ramayya has been on his television for years advocating his ‘Issues of the People’ and he was most vociferous in condemning the poor quality of health delivery in Berbice. Of course sometimes his enthusiasm would get the better of his judgement, but now I realize that his intention was well-meaning since he is willing to criticize the health service delivery even under his own government ‒ a stance which is unheard of in this country!
It is this quest to correct the failing health service in the NA Hospital which caused his confrontation with the CEO, Mr Bynoe. Dr Ramayya went to his office to report the problems in the main theatre which resulted in surgical operations being aborted, much to his annoyance. This ignited a public outburst and Dr Ramayya had to exit his office. It is a growing trend with the health officials in Berbice that they become upset when the truth is publicized. Instead of accepting the criticisms and solving the problems they lash out in anger and arrogance. This will only cause a further decline in health delivery. These health officials need to be taught basic skills in how to handle human resources, how to show more leadership qualities, and how to do some proactive management in problem solving. They only sit and allow things to fall apart. Last year millions of dollars had to be sent back to the Treasury simply because the Budget spending was not properly monitored.
Dr Ramayya should continue the good work, and should not hesitate to expose the wrongdoings in Region 6.
Yours faithfully,
Haseef Yusuf
Chairman of the Health Committee-Region 6
Regional Councillor