Senator Joseph says removal of Sir Molwyn will sanitize the public healthcare system and begs PM to fire him
Following a press conference on Tuesday, February 6, during which
Minister of Health Sir Molwyn Joseph sought to show that all is well
in the healthcare system, an Opposition senator has made yet
another call for him to be removed from the position.
United Progressive Party (UPP) Senator Johnathan Joseph has
issued a statement on healthcare that highlights the shortcomings of
the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, the Medical Benefits Scheme
(MBS), and several dysfunctional clinics across the island.
Joseph’s missive, captioned “It’s Time to Sanitize our Healthcare by
Firing Molwyn Joseph,” calls on Prime Minister Gaston Browne to
“immediately relieve [him] of his current portfolio, and to appoint a
new health minister who is willing to take the necessary steps to
turn around our failing national healthcare system.”
The removal of Sir Molwyn will sanitize the system and bring an end
to what Joseph deems his “unprecedented incompetence.”
The senator points to the health minister’s “suffocating
micromanagement and callous disregard of the recommendations
made by highly trained technicians within the public service.”
Instead of claiming to go to the hospital every day to make sure that
things are in check, Senator Joseph says Sir Molwyn should allow the
experts to do their jobs.
The UPP senator believes “the vast majority of Antiguans and
Barbudans agree that the failures of Molwyn Joseph completely
disqualify him from his current position.”
Further, Joseph is laying some of the blame for the poor healthcare
system at the feet of Prime Minister Browne.
He says its shortcomings are ultimately the responsibility of
Browne, who continually allows Sir Molwyn to fail with impunity,
while the population suffers.
Meanwhile, Joseph says that Sir Molwyn’s push for “Universal
Healthcare” is adding insult to injury, as this will require an increase
in Medical Benefits contributions.
And he notes that it was the fault of Sir Molwyn that the MBS Board
was only recently appointed – after more than one year of operating
outside the law.
According to him, this shows the minister’s contempt for the
beneficiaries and the overall system, which is heavily dependent on
the Scheme.
In the meantime, Joseph says that Sir Molwyn’s failure is
underscored by his recent signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding for Antiguans and Barbudans to be among the first
people to use an unproven cancer-prevention vaccine coming out of
China.
Therefore, Senator Joseph says the prime minister must act swiftly
to replace Sir Molwyn in the public interest and ignore any concerns
about political optics or his personal pride.
