Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Gaël Rangain
Published on 2024-04-18 13:00:16
A motion of censure was filed at the Rodrigues Regional Assembly on Tuesday against the Commissioner of Health, Nicolas Volbert, in the absence of the President of the Chamber, Christian Léopold. This motion of censure, filed in the name of minority member Jean Rex Ramdally, is based on the problems and shortcomings that, according to the parliamentary minority, “exist and persist within the Health and Social Security Commission for too long.” The Regional Assembly was therefore called to meet in a special session on April 26 to discuss this motion.
This is the third motion of censure filed by minority members since the change in the regional government at the beginning of 2022. The first targeted Johnson Roussety, then Chief Commissioner, while the second was directed against the President of the Regional Assembly, Christian Léopold.
Jean Rex Ramdally explains his approach: “We have filed this motion of censure against the Commissioner for his chaotic management of health and all other Areas of Responsibilities for which he is responsible. All the problems that have been raised come from the people and their sufferings.” He adds that these issues had already been raised during budget debates.
“Currently, the Chairperson and his deputy are absent, but we still wanted to remind Commissioner Volbert of all the problems affecting the population. And he took the opportunity to say that all the good he does is not recognized and that we only highlight the few shortcomings on his part. However, we are here today to tell him that the suffering of the people is not just a black mark, but a big problem,” he adds. He cites the issue of non-payment of overtime to ambulance drivers and their attendants, as well as to fire pump officers.
“They used an administrative building to turn it into a hospital. And in this building is also the Social Security Commission,” he says. This could lead to contamination of citizens visiting this commission, which is also located in the hospital building, according to him.
For the minority leader in the Rodrigues Regional Assembly, Franchette Gaspard Pierre Louis, this motion of censure will discuss all the problems that persist within the Health Commission. “We have a lot to discuss regarding social security, prison, health itself, and housing. All these topics that we will discuss on the day of the motion of censure will echo the cries of the population. And we will make these cries heard at the Assembly,” she says.
Before the censure motion was filed, the eight members of the minority held a peaceful demonstration outside the Mont-Lubin hospital. They displayed banners that read “the hospital is becoming a goat park,” “patients awaiting dialysis in the sun,” “transfer patients to Mauritius like cattle,” “Social Security office found in the hospital. Alliance government encourages contamination,” etc. Thus deploring a situation they consider catastrophic in the health sector in Rodrigues.
Read the original article(French) on Le Mauricien
