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Original $98.3M had to be increased twice by more than $90M
Problems abound at Mabaruma Hospital…
More than two years past its completion date, the Mabaruma Hospital recently opened its doors to treat patients in Region One, but a plethora of problems still exist in the newly constructed edifice, including a leaky roof.
The Mabaruma Hospital
The Mabaruma Hospital project is a Basic Need Trust Fund scheme which is funded by the Caribbean Development Bank and the Canadian International Development Agency at an estimated cost of $98.3M, but there were two more substantial sums awarded subsequently. The original contractor for the project is Roopan Ramotar also called ‘Fowl Cock’ with the construction foreman being David Ramnarine.
The project began in 2006 with the demolition of the old hospital, and since stone and cement were not available in Mabaruma, these had to be sourced outside of Region One and ferried by the steamer that plies the route every two weeks.
About 50 percent of the plate glass for the building reportedly broke during the trip, while the nurses’ hostel had to be converted to a hospital while the doctor occupied the Medex quarters.
During the initial stages of the construction the contract held by Ramotar had to be terminated due to substandard works, and it is unclear whether he was ever penalized by the Health Ministry for this.
This was in 2007, and despite the fact that Basic Needs Trust Fund was supervising the work, the government had to put up another $50M for the Mabaruma project.
It is unclear what were the additional costs incurred or the reasons for the delay in the completion of the Hospital.
In June 2007, Minister within the Health Ministry, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran had said while he could not definitively say what the final cost would be, an additional $80M was earmarked for the Lethem and Mabaruma hospitals with the major portion going towards the latter project. The Hospital is currently staffed by one doctor, two medexes as well as a few nurses, and a physiotherapist.
Meanwhile, construction is yet to commence on the nurses’ hostel, despite the fact that money was budgeted for this purpose for some time now.
At present the nurses’ hostel that once housed the hospital is abandoned and is rapidly deteriorating.
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