“How could you, as a medical doctor, go to that boat and commission it with a bright smile on your face?” — Amanza Walton-Desir, Member of Parliament

“Disguised Passenger Boat with Flat Sponge”: Health Ministry’s $24.8M Water Ambulance

By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News|

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — In a fierce political clash over hinterland public health standards, Member of Parliament and Forward Guyana Movement leader Amanza Walton-Desir has issued a blistering rebuke of Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony. She accused the administration of dressing up a standard, refurbished passenger boat and passing it off as a $24.8 million GYD “state-of-the-art” water ambulance for Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

The public dispute follows an official handing-over ceremony where Dr. Anthony commissioned the river vessel to the Region Seven Regional Administration, framing it as part of an ongoing executive push to strengthen medical evacuation networks for families living along the low Mazaruni riverbanks.

“Two Pieces of Plyboard and a Sponge”

Walton-Desir completely rejected the ministry’s description of the vessel, claiming the boat lacks the basic specialized trauma and stabilization equipment required to handle a life-threatening medical emergency at sea.

“This ‘ambulance’ that Frankie put out there for our indigenous brothers and sisters in Region Seven consists of nothing more than two pieces of plyboard with a flat sponge thrown on top of it,” Walton-Desir stated bluntly during an address. “All the necessary lifesaving equipment to carry out an actual medical emergency while traveling along our rough river channels is evidently missing. Not even a baseline gurney is in sight.”

The opposition lawmaker challenged Dr. Anthony’s professional ethics, asking how a trained medical doctor could stand in front of a bare passenger boat and commission it with a bright smile.

Pre-Oil Spending Comparison Spark Controversy

To illustrate what she described as a major decline in public procurement standards, Walton-Desir urged citizens to look at previous investments made before the country began receiving significant oil revenues.

“Go online right now and you will see former Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence standing inside the Bartica river ambulance delivered in 2019,” Walton-Desir argued. “That was a true water ambulance. It cost only $11 million dollars before this country had oil money, and it came fully equipped with everything required to deliver emergency care. Today, they are spending more than double that amount—$24.8 million—for a shell of a passenger boat.”

The Ministry Outlines the Lower Mazaruni Network Plan

In an official press release, the Ministry of Health defended the procurement, maintaining that the vessel is a critical addition to the country’s interior health network.

According to ministry planners, the vessel was specifically deployed to bridge a long-standing logistical gap in the Low Mazaruni district. The boat is designed to provide a high-speed transit link for critical patients from remote riverain settlements to the Bartica Regional Hospital, which houses specialized maternal, surgical, and emergency trauma rooms.

Ministry officials did not directly address Walton-Desir’s specific claims regarding the missing medical equipment or the plyboard interior. They instead emphasized that the government remains fully committed to ensuring every hinterland resident is connected to top-tier medical care.