17 July 2019 12:10 am
During the times of Mahinda Rajapaksa government, health sector agreements had been signed by others without even informing the then Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, says Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Minister Rajitha Senaratne.
Addressing a ceremony held at Nuwara Eliya on Monday to declare open the new Nuwara Eliya General Hospital constructed with the financial assistance of 40 million Euros from the Netherlands, the Minister said as per the original agreement that had been signed without the concurrence of the then Health Minister the arrangements were made to furnish the new hospital with used health equipment removed from European countries. “That was changed thanks to the strong rejection by the specialist doctors. We are now getting new medical equipment worth eight and half million Euros,” the Minister said.
He said that the agreement to build the new hospital had been signed in 2013. “The Netherlands provided financial assistance for two new hospitals to be constructed at Hambantota and Nuwara Eliya. There had been various problems pertaining to the new Nuwara Eliya Hospital delaying its opening. Those problems had actually been created by the administration of the previous government. But the very same group of politicians now in the opposition recently attempted to instigate the monks alleging that the delay in the opening of the new hospital is owing to the incumbent Minister’s inability to find a time from his schedule. One of the reasons was a massive fraud committed by the worthies of the former government. It took three years to sort it out.
“Both President Sirisena and I left that government in 2015 because we rejected their corruption. We did not know whether we would win, but people endorsed our victory since they too were well aware of the levels of corruption the country then had descended to,” he said.
The Netherlands provided financial assistance for two new hospitals to be constructed at Hambantota and Nuwara Eliya.