Fact check: Pt Fortin District Hospital

Submitted by Edmund Gall on Wed, 04/28/2010 - 12:59

It would be nice if a couple professional journalists in T&T could produce a weekly fact-check column for the duration of the elections.  The idea being that they would select statements/policies from each of the platforms over the previous week, check for supporting evidence and then report whether the statements were true or the policies realistic.  It would also test if a candidate had a reasonable grasp  of their constituents' issues.

I gave a tongue-in-cheek example when I extended BC Pires's commentary on Ishmael Samad's sledgehammer tilt at Calder Hart, poking holes in the UNC's repeated fears about the current state of the Treasury.  Let me give another, straighter example.

I've just witnessed the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs and MP for Pt Fortin being interviewed on a breakfast talk-show.  She asked her constituents, in response to a caller's question, to wait just a little longer for the Pt Fortin hospital, since funding for it was included in the most-recent budget.  See the video on C TV's online video-on-demand (VOD) service - relative to the start of the video clip (which shows the entire 3-hour programme), her interview begins about 36 minutes in, while her comment about the hospital occurs about 67 minutes in.

So, just how long have Pt Fortin's constituents been waiting?

The following are taken from official Budget Statements that are available on the Ministry of Finance's website, specifically for Pt Fortin's health facilities:

  • 2002 Oct - Promised general improvement of health facilities, but no specific mention of Pt Fortin
  • 2003 Oct - Construction of Pt Fortin District Hospital expected to begin in 2004
  • 2004 Oct - Construction of Hospital expected to begin in 2005
  • 2005 Sep - Construction of Hospital expected to be completed by 2007 (but hadn't started yet)
  • 2006 Oct - Construction of Hospital expected to be completed by 2007 (but hadn't started yet)
  • 2007 Aug - No mention of the Pt Fortin District Hospital
  • 2008 Sep - Construction of Hospital expected to begin in 2009
  • 2009 Sep - Construction of Hospital expected to begin in 2010.

From a Trinidad Guardian news report on 30 Mar 2010, we learnt that government had contracted HDR Architecture Inc to help advise on health policy and that there was an "action plan that required expansion of [HDR's] mandate to include the preparation of background information to be used for bidding documents to inform the issuance of Requests for Information and Requests for Proposals for design-build-equip contracts with respect to new hospitals in San Fernando, Port-of-Spain and Point Fortin."

This update was from the Prime Minister during his special appearance in the Senate on 29 Mar 20010.  So, up to 01 April 2010, the RFP for Pt Fortin District Hospital was yet to be created so that companies could bid for a contract to design, build and equip the Pt Fortin District Hospital.

Given the above, how can any prospective candidate realistically expect her constituents to accept her advice to wait just a little longer?

I wish to suggest to the Hon. Minister that, after being promised a hospital for years, and getting none despite inclusion in her government's budgets every year since 2003, that the patients in Pt Fortin may be running out of patience with her.  Especially given the speed with which the NAPA and new official residence for the Hon. Prime Minister have been built in the interim.

Note: NAPA first appeared in the last UNC budget of 2001, and the Prime Minister's new residence and Diplomatic Centre never appeared in any budget statement.

Just for fun, why not download all the Budget Statements from 2001 (last UNC budget) onwards and see just how much copy-and-pasting went on because of recurring promises?

Blog: 
Election 2010
Point Fortin District Hospital
Paula Gopee-Scoon
fact check

Comments

Submitted by Twitter Trackb... (not verified) on Wed, 04/28/2010 - 14:26.

[...] Fact check: Pt Fortin District Hospital | KnowTnT.com (Beta) www.knowtnt.com/node/152 – view page – cached It would be nice if a couple professional journalists in T&T could produce a weekly fact-check column for the duration of the elections. The idea being that they would select statements/policies from each of the platforms over the previous week, check for supporting evidence and then report whether the statements were true or the policies realistic. It would also test if a candidate had a... Read moreIt would be nice if a couple professional journalists in T&T could produce a weekly fact-check column for the duration of the elections. The idea being that they would select statements/policies from each of the platforms over the previous week, check for supporting evidence and then report whether the statements were true or the policies realistic. It would also test if a candidate had a reasonable grasp of their constituents' issues. View page Tweets about this link Topsy.Data.Twitter.User['knowtnt'] = {"location":"Trinidad and Tobago","photo":"http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/721436715/knowtntscreenie_normal.png","name":"KnowTnT","url":"http://twitter.com/knowtnt","nick":"knowtnt","description":"The continuous unauthorized biography of Trinidad and Tobago. Bloggers from T&T welcome. ","influence":""}; knowtnt: “Fact check: Pt Fortin District Hospital http://tinyurl.com/2b2zprb by Edmund Gall ” 1 hour ago view tweet retweet Filter tweets [...]

Submitted by Christian Khabay on Wed, 04/28/2010 - 16:53.

Excellent investigation Edmund. What's interesting here is the plurality of these budget anomalies. I could be wrong but in execution of an appropriations bill monies allocated for specific purposes must be spent on such else carry forward to the next period. If, according to you we could fact check each budget we'd come up with an endless list of "copy and paste" projects that have never been initiated, one is left to wonder if money is not spent on a specific project as prescribed by the budget what is it spent on then? And in such circumstances how much of the budget presentation is based on disingenuity by the presenters (political expediency) and how much of it is based on actual intent. People wondering why Manning refuses to debate issues need not look any further,  this article helps clarify that. Elections in this country has never been determined by issues but has always and singularly been determined by bacchanal and picong. Manning's assertion that there is nothing to gain by it is right, because any discussion on real issues will no doubt lull a T&T political audience to sleep for its lack of laughter and jumping and waving. Rum and roti politics is the yardstick by which we can judge the maturity of our electorate and just how far we are from achieving developed country status (certainly much further than the ten years left on Manning's deadline).

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