Caption: Political leader of the UNC Kamla Persad-Bissessar speaking on Monday. Photo: UNC
UNITED National Congress (UNC) political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says she will set up a commission of enquiry into the “mismanagement of Covid-19.”
She made the comment during a UNC Cottage Meeting at the party’s headquarters on Monday evening.
Persad-Bissessar said, “This is a government that fooled the nation into believing there was a ‘parallel healthcare system’ during the pandemic when the reality was very different, over 5,000 people are now dead because of state sanctioned murder during the Covid pandemic.”
She said during a Joint Select Committee in January 2020, Fyzabad MP Dr Lackram Bodoe asked Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram about the risk of Covid-19 for the upcoming Carnival season.
She said Dr Parasram told the committee not to worry about Covid-19 but about gastroenteritis.
Persad-Bissessar said, “This was in January 2020, when the UNC flagged it. We asked for meetings to deal with various suggestions…”
She said, “Thereafter over 5,000 people of our country died, hundreds of thousands were administered a fake vaccine, and Dr Roshan Parasram shamelessly was awarded the order of Trinidad and Tobago wen under his watch 5,000 of our people, our ciyizens died.”
Persad-Bissessar said he banned open-air cremations and the court found that unconstitutional.
She added, “I want to give you the assurance under the government you will elect us to… we will put in place a commission of inquiry into the Covid-19 mismanagement.”
Persad-Bissessar said, “And we will pursue justice on behalf of the over 5,000 dead Covid victims through the criminal and civil courts.”
She said, “To do that as well we will introduced a new criminal offence of criminal manslaughter, corporate manslaughter, that offence will also cover what happened at Paria…”
Persad-Bissessar then singled out UNC local government councillor Vanessa Kussie whose husband was one of four divers who died when they were sucked into a pipe line while working at Paria Fuel Trading Company more than two years ago.
She described Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh as “the minister of death,” saying that while $6 billion was spent on the health sector annually, many problems still plagued citizens.
Persad-Bissessar said, “The Minister of Health continues to govern by public relations stunts, deflecting from the issues and pretending that all is well in the health sector.
“This government has consistently misplaced its priorities about expenditure in the health sector, choosing to build a vanity Ministry of Health Administration building and San Fernando Hospital car park. At the same time, patients die waiting for cardiac and other critical procedures.”
She also outlined 50 ways in which the UNC will improve the health sector including: setting up a burns unit close to the Point Lisas Industrial Complex at the Couva Children’s Hospital and Multi-Training Facility; the purchasing and maintenance of modern equipment at all medical facilities; and fixing the supply chain issues to prevent the shortage of drugs, equipment and supplies.
This commission of inquiry will set the record straight. As a country we will be able who are the ones culpable for the 4500plus covid deaths. The CMO and his team will have to answer. One of whom is allegedly entering the election race for the St Joseph constituency. She as the the PMO will have to account to the St Joseph Constituents on her actions during the COVID tragedy.
This will be a yoke on her neck because a larger segment of the population felt that the CoVID management was a failure . More importantly, the hindu population felt discriminated against. by enacting laws that prevented them from performing sensitive Hindu ritual rituals