Symister calls on Sir Molwyn to install a board at MBS and stop running a one-man show

A member of the Cabinet is alleged to be making life-or-death
decisions on who will receive funding for medical care, as there is
still no board of directors in place at the Medical Benefits Scheme
(MBS) – despite calls for this breach to be addressed.

Reportedly, Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph is yet to appoint a
board to run the affairs of the statutory corporation, and therefore
he is said to be making the financial and “medical” decisions.
In September, Chester Hughes, the deputy general secretary of the
Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union (ABWU), announced that he
had been nominated to the board since June 2023.

But, up to that time, the board had not been constituted – reportedly
because of Joseph’s perceived ineffectiveness and the refusal of
some persons to work with him.

Now, as the year comes to an end, Leon Chaku Symister, the United
Progressive Party (UPP) spokesperson on legal matters, is raising
concern about the absence of a board of directors.
Symister alleges that the job of reviewing applications for medical
assistance is being undertaken solely by the minister, and this is not
right.

He notes that, by law, a board should already have been appointed,
and not having one in place is creating a recipe for disaster, he says.
The rule of law must be followed, Symister insists, and the current
set of government ministers has failed to do that.

According to the UPP spokesman, the law is very clear on who,
exactly, should sit on the MBS board. Therefore, Sir Molwyn should
move urgently to have the directors put in place.

Meanwhile, many residents are of the opinion that healthcare
services and the health infrastructure – under the stewardship of Sir
Molwyn – are the worst they have been in decades.