Two weeks ago I called on all residents in my mother country, the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), to withhold premium contributions to the National Health Insurance Board (NHIB) as a means of registering grave concerns not only about the construction and provisions of our new National Health Insurance Plan (NHIP) but also about the qualifications of Interhealth Canada, the company contracted to manage it.
As stated, the aim of this boycott was to compel our interim government and Interhealth Canada to appreciate the manifest necessity of addressing all of these concerns in a frank, comprehensive and transparent manner.
Pursuant to this aim, I reached out to Governor Gordon Wetherell – who was very gracious with his time. But I see no point in rehashing our discussions here; especially since the concerns at issue have been fodder for vigorous public debate over the past few months.
Instead, I shall suffice to note that I conveyed the growing consternation over his administration’s failure to explain glaring defects in the NHIP contract – as documented by The TCI Journal columnist Richard Berke; its failure to account for the astronomical increases in the cost of the two hospitals still under construction – as documented by PDM leader Doug Parnell (increases, by the way, that were made utterly incomprehensible by concomitant 50-percent decreases in the number of beds each of these hospitals will now provide); and its failure to fully honour its pledge of transparency – as documented by many of its own press releases (the most recent of which – on public viewing of the contracting documents for this NHIP – provoked me to dismiss the cloak and dagger arrangements it delineated as akin to arrangements one would expect for public viewing of the Shroud of Turin).
It is also instructive to note that I got the distinct and exasperating impression that Governor Wetherell was just dutifully toeing the party (FCO) line; notwithstanding what he must have known were the logical fallacies inherent in many of his responses to my queries.
Incidentally, this is the same impression I got last week listening to the former UK ambassador to the UN rationalize British participation in the invasion of Iraq by proffering the bon mot that, even though illegitimate, it was not illegal.
An example of this kind of Orwellian FCO spin in the Governor’s case was his response to my query about the critical mass of TCI residents, including leaders of both political parties, who now oppose the implementation of this NHIP. For he cited the compulsory registration of around 17,000 residents as an indication of general support for it – seemingly oblivious to its logical consonance with Fidel Castro citing compulsory party-line voting by millions as an indication of democratic support for his regime.
Apropos this, John Smith, chairman of the NHIB, displayed quizzical ignorance in dismissing opposition to this plan as comprised of only a noisy minority – seemingly oblivious to its logical consonance with former Premier Michael Misick maintaining that opposition to his corrupt government was comprised of only a noisy minority even as he was being unceremoniously ousted from office.
To be fair, though, I was mindful that financial experts probably advised the Governor that (advanced) contributions to the NHIP are indispensable to getting our fiscal house in order (and perhaps even to helping make government payroll). But I felt compelled to advise him that it might prove a pyrrhic victory if he persists in ramming this plan through; that, in doing so, he risks alienating the hearts and minds even of die-hard supporters of his interim administration, which could make implementing all of the pending constitutional reforms to ensure good and sustainable governance virtually impossible.
This is why I proposed the following as a way to harmonise implementing a duly modified NHIP with the simmering or, as the BBC observed, mutinous opposition the existing plan has incited:
1. That the Governor should convene a special session of the Consultative Forum, summoning all major stakeholders to appear, including managers of Interhealth Canada (Mr Hogan – having disclosed his resume if he expects anyone to take anything he says seriously), members of his executive board (CEO Mr Capes) and Advisory Council, business leaders (Chamberof Commerce), political leaders (most notably Messrs Parnell and Williams), religious and community leaders, and members of the press (most notably editors and key contributors fromThe TCI Journal);
2. That he should not settle instead on issuing another press statement, no matter how thorough, as this will only cause further alienation and fuel greater distrust amongst many stakeholders who already feel marginalized by his interim government.
3. That he, Hogan and Capes should then answer every single question stakeholders and members of the Consultative Forum have about this NHIP;
4. That to the extent they cannot answer any material question to the satisfaction of the majority of those assembled that that would constitute just cause to modify the provision in the NHIP contract to which that question pertained; and
5. That after this special session (which should be covered live and in its entirety by television and radio), he should assign a select committee – comprise of two members of the Advisory Council and three members of the Consultative Forum – to work with Interhealth Canada on reconciling the existing contract with sustained concerns raised in this session.
I then explained to the Governor why modifying (or even rescinding) the NHIP contract might not be as prohibitive (legally or financially) as he contends. I cited, amongst other things, the fact that the British government has since declared that the local politicians with whom Interhealth Canada negotiated this contract were not only too amoral but, more to the point, too immature and too incompetent to rule.
For it is arguable that the very act of ousting the Misick government on this basis is prima facie evidence that it did not have the capacity to negotiate this contract in the public interest, thus making it voidable as against public policy. Not to mention that this extraordinary change in our government alone should make Interhealth Canada solicitous of making whatever modifications are necessary to save it from legal challenge.
(Perhaps the lawyers defending our country against the basket case of lawsuits the Misick government left in its wake will consider proffering this intervening capacity determination to force settlement of those claims on more favourable terms. After all, if the new Iraqi government was able to prevail upon creditors to agree to sizable reductions in debts arising out of contracts entered into by the Saddam Hussein regime, why shouldn’t our interim government be able to do the same with debts arising out of contracts entered into by the Michael Misick regime? Admittedly, a newly elected local government might have better standing to make this plea than our British caretaker government.)
I also urged the Governor to appreciate the importance of convening this special session as soon as practicable, not only to avoid any unnecessary delay in implementing a more viable NHIP but also to refocus our attention on other critical matters – like improving our public service and reforming our electoral system.
My fellow TCIslanders, I do not presume that my way is the only way to resolve this crisis. But I have yet to hear or read of another way that is even plausible. For example, our new PDM leader is still championing a national referendum on this NHIP. But the Governor has already dismissed this idea as not even worthy of debate for the very reasons I cited in my commentary calling for a boycott.
In any event, I regret to report that the Governor has decided to proceed – full steam ahead – with this NHIP. To his credit, though, he conceded that the Forum can summon anyone it chooses. But he maintained that none of the concerns expressed warranted any delay in its implementation or any modification of the contracting documents on which it is based.
At this point, I feel constrained to note the uncanny parallels that are developing between our efforts to get this Governor to do the right thing and our efforts to get his discredited predecessor, Richard Tauwhare, to do the same.
But let me hasten to assert that both men strike me as eminently decent and honourable. Their only professional flaw seems to be a dogged adherence to instructions from their FCO bosses in the UK no matter how inconsistent those instructions are with the furtherance of good and sustainable governance in the TCI. And, as our dealings with Tauwhare ultimately proved, only an oversight committee of the British government can deal appropriately with this flaw.
Accordingly, I appeal now to the UK Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) to do all it can to help us resolve this NHIP crisis. Indeed, I beg the FAC to appreciate that its hands-on supervision might be necessary to preserve the integrity and good will, as well as to ensure the success, of this interim government.
NOTE: Despite my disagreements, I respect the Governor’s authority to proceed with the implementation of this NHIP as he and his advisers see fit. Moreover, I urge all TCIslanders who share my concerns about this one matter to appreciate that there are many others on which we must nurture common cause with Governor Wetherell to ensure that our concerns are properly addressed before they too are implemented.
Related commentaries:
Why pleading for referendum is pointless
Boycott to reform healthcare in TCI…
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