The Private Sector Commission (PSC) is unimpressed with the current government’s management of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
The PSC in a release on Tuesday disclosed that after President David Granger informed the nation of the appointment of a National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) headed by Prime Minister (PM), Moses Nagamootoo, to respond to the Corona Virus, COVID-19 pandemic, the PM issued a statement setting out the mandate for the Task Force. The statement is purported to have said that the Task Force is to “coordinate and oversee the measures being taken by various front-line agencies and to give these agencies, especially our health workers, the support they need.”
Subsequent to the establishment of the Task Force, the PSC stated, it was invited in writing by the Secretariat of the COVID-19 National Task Force, to participate in the Task Force to which the Commission responded by “immediately” appointing a representative.
The PSC disclosed however, that regretfully, its representative to the Task Force had cause to inform the PM that “to date, there has been no meeting of the Task Force to which he has been invited and, to all intents and purposes, the Task Force does not appear to be meeting and functioning as would be expected.”
Several hours later, via the Department of Public Information (DPI), the NCTF responded to the private sector criticism.
It thanked the PSC for its acceptance of the invitation to contribute to the work of the task force. The DPI statement noted that Nagamootoo had telephone conversations with a PSC representative who was advised of the structure of the NCTF.
“For clarity the NCTF is a ministerial task force but there is a full national structure in place in Guyana’s fight against the spread of COVID-19.
“The PSC and numerous civil society organizations are engaged at the level of the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) which forms an integral part of the national structure.
“Director General of the Civil Defence Commission, Lt. Col. Kester Craig, today held a very productive meeting with several stakeholders. Another meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, with multiple representatives, including from the PSC…”
In its statement on Tuesday, the PSC further stated that it is “deeply concerned at the manner in which the government has, to date, approached the management of the COVID-19 crisis which daily threatens the lives of every one of our people.”
According to the PSC, it has held “intensive” consultations with medical professionals and “remains deeply concerned” about the information being disseminated by the Ministry of Public Health and has branded the broadcasts and most recent press conference by the Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, as “considerably less than satisfactory.”
Based on this outlook, the Commission feels moved to ask the question: “Why is the nation not being addressed and kept informed on a regular basis by the Chairman of the National Task Force, as should be expected?”
The Commission referenced the Pan American Health Organization’s projection that Guyana should expect some 1,400 persons to be infected by the virus and alleges that the government has so far only confirmed 46 persons who have been tested and, of those, 8 persons are said to have tested positive for the virus. Based on these statistics, the Commission feels that there is clearly a need for much more immediate testing and consequential tracing to be carried out, adding, that without extensive further testing, at this point in time, “The government and, indeed, the country, remain blind to the actual extent to which the country has been impacted by the COVID-19 virus.”
The PSC said it is its understanding that private hospitals and private laboratories have so far not been included in the national effort to bring the virus under control and have declared this approach to be “unacceptable.” As far as the Commission is concerned, there clearly needs to be a nationally coordinated involvement of the country’s entire medical facilities and personnel in tackling and managing this crisis if the country “is to avoid being overtaken by the virus.”
As part of its endeavours to contribute to the Task Force, the Commission stated that on March 27 it submitted to NCTF, “detailed” recommendations with regard to: the management of public information; national capacity for laboratory testing; the urgent need for increased testing; the inadequacy of response to hotline calls; the preparation and coordination of public, regional and private hospitals; and the urgent need to expand the provision of personal protection equipment and the supply of respirators.
The PSC further disclosed that it has submitted to the Secretariat of the National Task Force, “comprehensive recommendations for economic measures to relieve the financial impact on the country and, in particular, economic measures to cushion the impact on vulnerable individual citizens.” These measures, it says, include tax relief, emergency funding, deferment of payment for public utility services and rescheduling of loans and mortgages and a copy of these recommendations have also been sent to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Business.
The PSC said that to date it has received no acknowledgement of its proposals from the Secretariat.
Notwithstanding the Secretariat’s failure to respond, the PSC avers that it will continue with its efforts to remain fully engaged with what it hopes will be “a functioning National Task Force and to place whatever resources we can at its disposal,” the release added.
