The National Assembly yesterday, by a majority vote, supported a motion which recognises the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic while pledging to support the needed resources to bring relief to Guyana, which could possibly include a Corona Virus Immunization bill.
The motion which was moved by Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, urged that the Assembly recognise the seriousness of the pandemic and the challenges that it has presented to the country and its citizens while asking that the assembly pledge to support the required resources needed to test, treat and immunise citizens.
The assembly also committed to “support measures to bring relief to all Guyanese, especially those more in need with humanitarian and other initiatives to restore normalcy as soon as is feasible.”
These measures that the assembly voted on supporting could also include support for an immunization bill which the health minister said is missing from Guyana’s legal framework. Dr Anthony during his presentation stated that the authorities have to look at the systems in place in the country and when the laws are perused, it would be observed that the country does not have laws that speak to the immunization of adults.
“We have laws that deal with the immunization of children and therefore you would have seen in the motion that we have put in there that one of the things that we want to do early in the new year is to bring a bill to address this deficiency in our legal framework so that we can ensure that immunization of adults fall within the realms of our laws,” the health minister told the house.
With that he noted that while persons would like to stop wearing masks and observing the other precautionary measures, herd immunity must be achieved before that is done. He added that if work is to be done to achieve herd immunity, the population would have to decide whether they will take the vaccine or not when it becomes available.
“That’s a debate as a society we should have. We should decide whether we want to make this mandatory or whether we want to make it voluntary and that is a discussion I think we ought to have” he said.
He reiterated that experts around the world have been saying that for the world to exit the pandemic, at least 80% of each country’s population should be immunized, and that would be a challenge.
However the minister noted that through talks with the COVAX mechanism they have indicated that the first tranche of vaccines which are expected to cover 3% of Guyana’s population should be expected by the second quarter of 2021.
Meanwhile, making his contribution on the motion, LJP MP Lenox Shuman stated that “The bill does not go far enough,” as he mentioned that he is concerned about a spike in cases that will follow the holiday season and the absence of an exit strategy from the pandemic. “We must do better and plan for the future,” Shuman said.
Further he offered a cautionary note to the current government stressing that exceptions made under the previous administration for party loyalists and favourites should not be replicated by this administration. “Friends who suffered under the last regime should not have a free pass through this regime, if one does wrong and violates the law, the law has no race, no colour, no creed, and should be applied to every business and person equally,” Shuman, also the deputy speaker, noted.
While he iterated that the bill does not go far enough, he also stated that the $25,000 per household allocation is grossly inadequate as the effects of the pandemic have surpassed that allocation. The deputy speaker mentioned that he has observed government functionaries and ministers doing ministerial outreaches and ‘meet and greets’ at the taxpayers’ expense. “While this is good for instilling confidence in the population I do believe the population is well aware of who won the elections and the millions spent on so-called ministerial outreaches can be better directed to the impoverished and suffering,” the deputy speaker posited.
Proactive
Additionally, he asked that the government seek a more proactive approach in the management of the pandemic so as to have an equally important exit strategy which includes stimulus spending, relief for families, students, and others who have been affected by the ongoing pandemic. He also asked that the administration not neglect the other medical cases that have gone unnoticed as COVID-19 took “centre stage”.
“We must also limit its effects on our country’s future and I beg the administration to get started with a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan” Shuman urged.
Opposition parliamentarian, Dr Karen Cummings, in response to the presentation of the motion stated that the motion cannot be supported by the coalition in its current form unless changes are made, she also defended the coalition’s handling of the pandemic between March and the end of July, 2020.
Dr Cummings said, “The bringing of this motion in the light of the pandemic to the National Assembly is a good one however I must let you know that the motion cannot be supported by the coalition in its current form.”
She noted that while the current health minister mentioned plans to access grants from COVAX to get experts to provide technical assistance to administer the COVID-19 vaccine, the country has competent doctors and nurses who have much experience in administering vaccines. She suggested that what should happen in addition to the training is paying those high risk health workers the additional funds to execute their duties.
Cummings further noted that even with the tabling of the motion, the current health minister is unsure of what needs to be done for a vaccine which is expected in the country next year.
In defending the coalition’s handling of the pandemic, she noted that while the country had its first imported case in March, they had already begun preparatory works prior to that including training and the gathering of supplies necessary with assistance from partners like PAHO.
The former minister disclosed that the then administration only had one twelfth of its budget to spend and that there wasn’t enough “fiscal space” and as a result the expected multilateral cooperative response was dashed by the nationalistic efforts of some countries. “There were efforts to curtail the export of critical medical supplies, testing devices and protective clothing, so in other words the wealthier countries tried to outbid others who would have already placed bids,” she said adding that the result was that necessary resources were siphoned off to the richer countries.
The motion was carried as those present in the dome (the government side of the house) voted in support of the motion. The opposition which participated virtually, did not respond when the question was asked who was against the motion. The government has a majority in the house.
