While Health Minister Fuad Khan’s wife Carol Bhagan-Khan, may be well qualified for the job of NWRHA director of health, the problem is perception of favouritism, say two experts. Former head of the Public Service Reginald Dumas and Senior Counsel Israel Khan both cited perception as a problem in the situation.
They commented after Bhagan-Khan eventually picked up the post this month after topping applicants for it in April and getting the job. Following certain public criticism at the time, she said she was undecided. But she eventually took it in November after being asked again. Dumas said: “I truly sympathise with her. This is a very difficult issue as she’s between a ‘rock and a hard place’ and perhaps should have erred on the side of caution and refused the job in the interest of transparency.”
“In the interest of transparency, to which this government says it is wedded and given the poor political image it has in that area, it’s better to err on the side of caution and not take the job. In politics, perception is reality,” he said. “On one hand she seems to have the qualifications for the post and it’s wrong to say because someone is somebody’s husband and they’re a government member, therefore they couldn’t get work. But on the other (hand) there’s the political aspect – the ‘how it go look’ aspect. That’s where the difficulty lies.”
“In instances like this, to be absolutely above board, it may be best not to take the job so it’s a case of damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” Dumas said the NWRHA board is chosen by Cabinet of which the Minister of Health is a member. “So it’s awkward, and it may seem unfair, but you have to consider the ‘optics’ of the situation—how it looks—so I’d think it’s better to err on the side of caution especially given the poor reputation government has on transparency.”
