People do what they can get away with
Published:Thursday | January 15, 2026 | 12:14 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
A procurement storm is brewing in the UHWI’s teacup. Those who are easily excited by nine-day wonders should take note that the government-controlled truth bearers have bolted from their blocks and are already at maximum velocity: The board of the UHWI takes seriously the findings of the auditor general’s report and is committed to addressing the issues raised in a deliberate, transparent, and responsible manner. Indeed! And certainly, it would be inappropriate for them to comment any further because the matter is under a ‘never-ending-investigation’. Maybe this is more tolerable than to be told to reject the evidence of our eyes and ears upon its conclusion.
In a swift and overly expected move, the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, has appointed a six-member Institutional Review Committee to investigate what he describes as governance and accountability gaps. I have no doubt that this committee’s final report will end up on a shelf, like other similar reports, to gather dust and to be referenced by civil society when there’ i a recurrence of a similar nature.
As a hybrid of a cynic and pessimist, I have seen an abundance of breaches of procurement and mismanagement of public funds at several government-run entities to form the considered viewpoint that not even a smidgen of the lost funds will be recovered, and might I add, supposedly scarce resources. When will it stop? What will it take to dissuade people from participating in these selfish and wasteful practices? It would be remiss of the cynic in me to not point out that ‘people do what they can get away with’.
R. A. SILENCE