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The glaring breaches of governance and accountability practices unearthed by the Auditor-General, Pamela Munroe Ellis at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) once again asks questions of the Minister of Health, Dr. Christopher Tufton’s fitness to hold the portfolio.

There have been too many instances of unethical behaviour, unscrupulousness and controversy during his tenure. In any law-abiding developed country, he would have had to resign. But this is Jamaica, where roguery and rascality form the national fabric.

The Market Me contract scandal, which saw J$80 million dispersed to his “ friend” between 2016 and 2021, should have seen any government minister having to step down.

The Integrity Commission found there was no declaration of a conflict of interest and that Dr. Tufton “ advanced a private interest which resulted in a monetary benefit to Market Me,” which is headed by his dear friend Lyndsey McDonnough.

Dr. Tufton was again the at the centre of procurement breaches concerning $400 million in COVID-19 expenditure.

Mismanagement of the rehabilitation of the Cornwall Regional Hospital, with the price now escalating to $24 billion, with very little progress made, again placed Dr Tufton under the spotlight. A budget of $2 billion has ballooned to $24 billion, and there has been no accountability. The Jamaican taxpayers will have to pick up the tab. Contractor issues, missed deadlines, and lack of governance have plagued the Cornwall Regional Hospital and yet again Dr. Tufton comes out unscathed.

Now nurses are picketing the Cornwall Regional Hospital, protesting deplorable working conditions. The Minister of Health says this is due to challenges in the system due to Hurricane Melissa.

There is a massive public health failure in Jamaica, which has not escaped the U.S. government’s attention. It has placed a travel advisory on Jamaica, citing the poor quality of its medical facilities which it says are unfit for U.S. citizens.

To those much is given, much is expected. In Dr Christopher Tufton’s case, there are no expectations placed on him; he can carry on regardless of lack of accountability and mishaps. Prime Minister Andrew Holness allows him to blithely continue despite his litany of unforced errors. 

Dr Tufton is the proverbial cat with nine lives.

He took heat for the “Dead Babies” scandal, that was just a link in a chain of alarming failures that caught the public’s attention.

The Minister of Health has come under a barrage of criticism with” vile, filthy, scandalous allegations and innuendos on social media” but given what has transpired under his watch, that has to be expected.

Dr. Tufton has gone from being the most popular government minister to the most controversial and scandal-clad minister in the JLP administration.

Does this make him a liability? Evidently not.

Thee are those who see him as the next JLP Prime Minister and he is the darling of the “Uptown” crowd and the private sector who say he can do no wrong.

The UHWI imbroglio is yet another instance of rampant corruption, poor management, an absence of governance and a case study of why Jamaica is a banana republic.

According to the Auditor-General’s  Report, “ no procurement documents were found for 51 contracts totalling $521 million awarded by UHWI.”

Then it was revealed that it used its tax-exempt status to import goods for a private company and later purchased those goods from the same firm.

This is blatant corruption and unbecoming of a medical institution with UHWI’s reputation. Patrick Hylton serves as its Chairman, and he says he was unaware of what was going on. Now he has been appointed as President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ). That appointment couldn’t have come at a worse time.

The former CEO of NCB’s time would be better employed sorting out the mess at UHWI.

At one point, a reputable English lady was headhunted for the position of CEO, with the word being that the private sector would pitch in to pay her emoluments. Then the decision was made that the position should not go to a foreigner but rather to a Jamaican.

“Not every top job in Jamaica should automatically go to a white person. Why don’t we have faith in our own people?”

The job went to Fitzgerald Mitchell, who is now off on an incredulous four-month leave. Talk about senior management not leading the line on productivity! Now he is unavailable to answer questions on this horrendous mess.

Ultimately, as Minister of Health, Dr Christopher Tufton is responsible and should accept that responsibility. Why was this misconduct and breaches allowed to go undetected?

Dr Tufton says he will appoint a committee headed by Howard Mitchell to look into what happened at UHWi. It is clear that no one was at the wheel and that heads should roll.

It is wrong to imply that Dr Tufton was involved here and partook in illegality and breaches of established procurement practices. Some in the media have jumped on his back, probably to score political points.

However, his name must be mentioned in another fiasco involving the Ministry of Health of which he runs. How was this allowed to happen? If you have a CEO who can take four months off in one go, is he or she really needed? What do they bring to the organisation they lead? 

The Auditor-General Pamela Munroe-Ellis is a very good professional and must be commended for both her service and her work. It is unbecoming to throw political darts at her.

This was an egregious failing on the UHWI’s management’s part and yet another blow to how Dr. Tufton is handling his portfolio. He has presided over too many questionable situations that have left a foul odour.

UHWI’s inability to comply with the procurement document presentation is a clear case of ministerial oversight failure.