UPP calls on Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph to ‘come clean’ on alleged private deal for takeover of Cancer Centre

The United Progressive Party (UPP) is calling on the Gaston Browne
Administration – especially Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph – to
“come clean” on its reportedly secret plans to resuscitate the Cancer
Centre, which ceased operations last year.

According to a press statement issued this afternoon, January 12, the
Party says it has learned, from credible sources, that a Cabinet
member is a “silent partner” in a private deal with a local doctor and
other investors to take over the Cancer Centre.

The Cancer Centre, through compulsory acquisition, became public
property in 2023, after a full year’s notice of its closure to Prime
Minister Gaston Browne and Sir Molwyn.

“Therefore,” the statement reads, “any plans for its sale, its
shareholding, and its operation must be conducted in an open and
transparent manner, in keeping with the provisions of the Tenders
Board Act and the Procurement and Contract Administration Act.”
It adds that “no legitimate entity, whether local or international,
should be denied the opportunity to bid on the pretext of national
interest or urgency.”

The UPP notes that “the Cancer Centre was intended to form part of
this country’s healthcare infrastructure and it provided critical
services to local and regional patients.” Therefore, its demise was
“an indictment on this Administration,” the statement says.

The Party insists that the “indifference and neglect” of Browne and
Joseph “must not be allowed to inure to the benefit of hand-picked
owners or operators rather than to the people of Antigua and
Barbuda.

“At a time like this, when the public-health system is in shambles –
with hospital facilities lacking and clinics closed – and when the cost
of private medical care has increased due to the hike in the sales tax,
the poor, the sick, and the suffering must not be further exploited for
private gain,” the statement declares.

It ends by saying, “Sir Molwyn must come clean to the Nation on this
deal.”