Gordon Robinson | Laughter is the best medicine

After weeks of depressing news (fires, road deaths, etc) including a damaging report written by OCG (oops, sorry, dang typos, OCA) alleging predatory sexual behaviour in child care facilities, I needed a good laugh.

It didn’t come from PNP who again preferred puerile perversion to policy participation. There’s no more important issue than constitutional reform and PNP’s crude attempt to derail that process by making public demands before contributing belies the sincerity of its repeated complaints about not being consulted. Before accepting the invitation to chip in, PNP insists on receiving “a full understanding of the direction Government intends to take” on the issue of CCJ replacing Privy Council.

Sigh.

I expect the direction Government intends to take is to carefully consider the Constitutional Reform Committee’s report and (hopefully) act on it after its job is done. If not, why bother with the Committee? The direction PNP ought to take is to participate fully in that process by lobbying within and without the Committee for its preferred policies including on the Privy Council/CCJ dilemma and stop making premature asinine demands.

Somebody needs to tell Mark Golding he’s not Prime Minister and PNP isn’t in Government. By PNP’s attitude and actions they are unlikely to perform either role in the foreseeable future. The Opposition must relentlessly criticize any Government policy it considers inappropriate and highlight any perceived Government indiscretion or abuse. But, when it’s invited to co-operate on policy formation, its duty is to accept. Full. Stop. Anything else is infantile throwing of toys from prams.

No laughs there.

So thanks to Gleaner for its January 10 report of another Government contract to “fix” Cornwall Regional Hospital: “CRH to enter final phase of rehab before reoccupation.”

Hip hip (wait a minute)……

Regarding Chris Tufton’s announcement of yet another contractor “to be engaged before the current fiscal year ends” Gleaner reported:

“Engineering firm M&M Jamaica….is now wrapping up work under its $1.7-billion contract at CRH after 12 months.

“The scope of work includes strengthening structural beams that had started to deteriorate, and the rehabilitation of other supporting systems to make the hospital…structurally sound.”

WHAT? Lest we forget:

On May 5, 2017, Tufton told CRH staffers the problem was plumbing and poor ventilation. Structural issues weren’t mentioned in passing. He proudly announced the award of two contracts. Regarding Contractor #1:

“They [project team] will be on site very soon and will take control of management of the project through to completion. Part of that project management [will] be assessment of infrastructure, particularly as it relates to plumbing, electrical, the building itself in terms of leaks, and so on.….”

To sum up: Soon come (including “assessment of infrastructure” as a “part” of the project). It sounded like that contractor would complete any assessed infrastructural works.

Regarding Contractor #2:

“They’re going to be in the facility now to start going through, looking and assessing and they’re expected to produce a design for a new ventilation system [which] we’ll use to secure a supplier who will manufacture and install that system. We’re expecting this phase to last about four months ….”

Four more months of “assessing”! Then a third contractor (oops, “supplier”)!

But, good news on September 17, 2017 as Tufton updated:

“…..we’re on track with the renovations. We did say that we’d have most of the issues solved by the first quarter of next year…. I would think most of the issues would be dealt with and the facility back up and running by [then]”

Allrighty then! Soon come = March 31, 2018. By then the pests (plumbing leaks; faulty ventilation) should be exterminated and CRH back in business.

Over five years and several multi-billion dollar contracts later Gleaner reports Tufton’s latest update:

“What is happening now is that the building is being completely gutted. The structure has been reinforced…. Then, when that is complete, what you would have is the frame of the building…”

Frame? FRAME? What happened to “…leaks and so on”? What happened to “a new ventilation system”?

Jamaica’s Grand Poohbah of Announcements continued:

“... When that frame is completed and there’s confidence in it, then a final stage now is going into putting in the windows, the doors, the partitions, the offices, the air conditioning, the electricals, the piping, and that’s now the final phase before the occupation.”

Ah, at last, air conditioning…. But this is a brand new hospital which Tufton was told, six years ago, by multiple experts, (see Parts I and II of my three-part Sunday Gleaner analysis; May 6 and April 29, 2018), would be necessary as the building was incurably sick. Yet he misdirected repeatedly using the ventilation problem as a magician’s wand.

In March 2017 Tufton was advised by Jose Espino, an environmental hygienist, that the number one priority was “The water-intrusion problem needs to be addressed before any refurbishing efforts/mould removal are attempted.” This confirmed a MOH contracted U-Tech team’s similar view.

Tufton knew. Or ought to have known!

In January 2019, after gazillions had been spent; contracts handed out like confetti; and timeline after timeline broken, Gleaner reported:

“Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says the ongoing restoration work at the problem-plagued Cornwall Regional Hospital is set to intensify, with plans afoot to replace the 10-storey building’s inner plumbing and electrical fittings and to fully repair the roof.”

Intensify? Is this a Festival Song? “Fully repair the roof”? What roof? First we’re hearing about any roof trouble. And not a word in English about the real problem (mould) of which MOH was aware from 2016 could only be solved by building a new hospital.

In 2018, Tufton addressed Parliament using his favourite tool - deflection:

“the truth is the Hospital has been poorly maintained dating back decades and since 1999 there have been numerous reported cases of air quality issues at the facility. In fact, as far back as early 1990s....”

In other words, it’s PNP’s fault! Ok, so what have YOU done since 2016 to correct PNP’s default?

Tufton in January 2019: “Over the last few years, we have assessed and determined on a work programme to rehabilitate the Cornwall Regional Hospital that will see the roof being repaired to solve the leaking problem. A $100-million contract has been signed, and work is about to commence to start that process.”

Assessed AGAIN? Determined a work programme? For three years? So the “leaking problem” was from the roof? C’Mon man! So why is work only “about to commence” on the roof (with yet another contract signing) in 2019?

In April 2018 Tufton told Parliament ONLY about awarding contracts to design and build new ventilation systems

This was slipped into his April 2018 statement to Parliament:

“We worked with PAHO to commission an air quality assessment of the facility…. An inspection team from PAHO carried out the assessment in March 2017 (my emphasis). AT THAT TIME the main building was assessed with damp or sick building syndrome caused by various water leaks creating a perfect opportunity for microorganisms to grow. The PAHO study detected nine different types of molds which were present in the external atmosphere and of these, five were found in the internal spaces (my emphasis).”

What did he do about that big ticket item? Assessed. In. 2017! He kicked it down the road.

“We have since commissioned a comprehensive assessment of the state of the infrastructure to determine the additional works required...”

What the Charles John Huffam DICKENS? Didn’t you say, in May 2017, that your first contractor was engaged for an “assessment of infrastructure” AFTER Espino TOLD you in March 2017 the number one problem WAS infrastructure? That wasn’t “comprehensive” enough?

NOW, in 2023, we are FINALLY told “the building is being completely gutted.” The latest Tufton promise is MOH is working towards facilitating PARTIAL reoccupation of the main building before year-end with the project to be wrapped up next year.

Next Year? 2024? Which month?

Tufton: “Discussions are taking place to engage [a contractor] or to begin that third phase, which we are hoping will start before March.”

What a man love “discussions”! And contractors! All Jamaicans needed to hear from May 2017 was “Look, we know we need to build a new hospital here. We know we need to deal with the external leaks first so simple renovations are just not on. But here’s the thing. We bruk. So this will have to be postponed until we can afford to deal with it. In the meantime we have to move operations elsewhere.” But that the whole truth will set them free isn’t in politicians’ tool kits. Deflection and misdirection always preferred!

If it wasn’t so tragic it would be hilarious.

Peace and Love

Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.