PAYNE-BANFIELD: NEW HOSPITAL IS NIGHTMARE FOR PREGNANT WOMEN

Political Leader of the opposition Grenada United Labour Party (GULP), Gloria Payne-Banfield has criticised the conditions existing for pregnant women at the newly built General Hospital in St. George's.

In an address Sunday at a GULP meeting held at Mont Toute, Grand Anse, Payne-Banfield complained of a lack of beds at the hospital for pregnant women. The former Cabinet Secretary accused the Keith Mitchell-led ruling New National Party (NNP) administration of rushing to build a hospital without the necessary planning for facilities such as beds. "If they had planned properly, they would have had enough beds in the Maternity section of the new spanking General Hospital", she told the small gathering.

According to Payne-Banfield, the island can boast of having a "brand new" hospital but pregnant women are forced to sit in a chair during labour rather than enjoy the comfort of a bed. She questioned the rationale of women being forced at the hospital "to sit in a chair during labour, deliver on the bed and then go back in the chair after they are finished (making the baby)". "I know of a woman who sat in a chair, then have the baby, and had to go back in the chair", she said. "What is the point of rushing to open a General hospital and you don't have beds yet", she added.

The island's first female political leader told the meeting that she was not in principle against the building of a new hospital for Grenadians but the manner in which the government had been moving to equip it. She felt that the hospital should be "a place where you can go and get treatment, not sit on the chair because you do not have a bed".

Payne-Banfield who would be contesting the St. George South seat for the GULP in the upcoming general election chided the Mitchell government for the manner in which it was allegedly bad-spending taxpayers money. She pointed to the Grenada Call Centers affair in which the administration used up EC$4.2 million in dividend payment from Cable & Wireless to pay for overseas calls made by the state-controlled business entity. This, she said happened although Grenadians are not aware that the government now holds the entire 100% shareholding of the loss-making company.

The GULP boss accused the Mitchell government of only selling government entities that are making money and "buying what ain't making money". "In the end the poor people have to pay for it", said Payne-Banfield who served for 42 years as a public servant.

Grenada Call Centers was established as a joint venture about four years ago through an EC$10 million loan government had guaranteed for a group of private individuals including a close relative of Prime Minister Mitchell. The individuals were allocated 60% of the shares and government the remainder of the 40 % shareholding interest.

In recent testimony before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Timothy Antoine disclosed that the private individuals are no longer involved in Call Centers and that government now holds all the shares.

Antoine also said that the 10 million dollar loan pumped into Call Centers by the Mitchell government in the form of "a loan" would have to be repaid by the company, which is now totally state-owned.