GEORGETOWN – APNU Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul is demanding full disclosure from the Government following reports out of Trinidad and Tobago that Guyana is allegedly in talks with its neighbour to contract medical professionals. During a recent engagement, Prime Minister of the twin-island republic, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, announced that both health officials here and in Trinidad, are in talks to hire an initial 50 doctors to work in Guyana.
That announcement however has not been confirmed or announced locally.
Mahipaul however argued that while healthcare capacity gaps are widely acknowledged, the public cannot be asked to accept foreign recruitment without clear answers about what it means for taxpayers, local medical workers, and patient care across the country.
“The Guyanese people deserve transparency,” he said, questioning why details about the arrangement have not yet been shared by the Government. Mahipaul submitted a list of critical questions he believes must be answered before any agreement proceeds. Among them: what are the specialties of the doctors being recruited, how long will their contracts last, and how much will Guyana pay to employ, house, and support them?
He is also pushing for clarity on where the doctors will be deployed; regional hospitals, health centres, or the Georgetown Public Hospital and whether local doctors were considered first before turning overseas.
Mahipaul warned that Guyana must guard against any move that sidelines its own trained professionals or undermines career advancement for local doctors already serving in a strained health system. He believes the public should be able to scrutinize the qualifications and credentials of incoming personnel, especially if the initiative arises through a bilateral government-to-government pact.
According to the MP, transparency is not optional when taxpayer dollars and national health outcomes are at stake.
“Foreign recruitment always has implications, financial, social, and professional,” he noted. “If the Government believes this is necessary, then it must justify the decision openly and honestly.”
