UNC: Welsh report was a waste of time

OROPOUCHE EAST MP Roodal Moonilal rubbished the Welsh report – a report into the public health sector – claiming that the report was inaccurate.

He was speaking at the UNC’s mid week press conference on Thursday.

“Welsh committee did an inaccurate report and we wanted to have no part of that. And the UNC never dealt with that because it was a waste of time and money,” Moonilal said.

He also knocked the Prime Minister for saying that Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar was to blame for the Welsh Report – a report into the public health sector – not moving forward to implementation.

Moonilal, in responding to Dr Rowley’s claims that the Opposition refused to take part in a joint select committee on the report said the Opposition did not have to take part for the recommendations in the report to be implemented.

“Dr Rowley knows that whether an opposition participates in a JSC or not that has nothing to do with passing laws, cabinet decisions and implementing programmes. All he had to do is take the Welsh Report, put a committee of the cabinet to study it, and make recommendations and cabinet will approve recommendations and the minister implements the policy. That is all.”

“If it required legislative change you draft a law to the legislative review committed you study it, you analyse it then you come to Parliament and pass your law. What does the UNC and the JSC have to do with the Welsh Report?”

“For Dr Rowley to stand with a straight face and say that the Welsh committee report was thrown in the dustbin because of the Opposition Leader and the Opposition in Parliament, that is rubbish. He is really thinking that everyone in town is a fool.”

He referred to the Gladys Gafoor report, done in 2007, which he claimed had 1,500 pages of recommendations. The People’s Partnership implemented several of those recommendations according to Moonilal.

Dr Tim Gopeesingh also lashed Rowley for his comments on the Welsh report. He knocked Rowley for “shamelessly” blaming the Opposition Leader to hide the Government’s own incompetence.

“This is truly bewildering, even for PM Rowley, who appears to have long lost touch with the reality of TT. His baffling, ridiculous accusations amount to nothing more than a dangerous madman’s rant—dangerous, because it deals with the health and well-being of the population, and is therefore literally a matter of life and death for citizens of this country.”

Gopeesingh said in 2015 Rowley commissioned the report, and at the same time, scrapped all the measures which was put in place by the previous People’s Partnership Government led by Bissessar during its tenure from 2010-2015.

“This Welsh committee took two whole years to deliver their report, despite having significant resources and manpower at their disposal, paid for by taxpayers.

He too said that during a motion to establish the JSC, that his contribution as then MP for Caroni East was that the report was without depth or substance and therefore a JSC would a waste of time. He said the majority of the Welsh report was in the Gafoor report.

“The fact remains that as Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, and head of the Cabinet for the past seven years, Rowley has the sole responsibility for setting and implementing policy in health and every other sector. The Rowley Government therefore does not need parliamentary approval in any form or fashion to implement the recommendations of the Welch Report.”

During a press conference at the Diplomatic Centre on Monday, Rowley brought up the report which was mentioned in an editorial in a local newspaper. He knocked statements in the editorial saying that he “baulked” at the report which said doctors were on government payroll but were spending more time in their private practices, conduct their private practices in competition with the public service or not show up to work at all.

Rowley said the Leader of the Opposition refused to appoint members of the JSC to examine at the report for the purpose of implementing its recommendations. The Government laid the report in Parliament

“It is in the Parliament, went to the Parliament and was undermined by an Opposition that says it wants no part of that because it is a waste of time,” Rowley said.