Parsanlal booted from NCRHA programme

Industrial unrest—that was the excuse given to former People’s National Movement information minister Neil Parsanlal who was booted off a consultancy programme hosted by the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) one week ago. Personnel Management Services Ltd (PMSL) was contracted by the Authority to provide a facilitator in keeping with administrative professionals week.

Parsanlal was assigned to do the facilitation on stress management at the institution on April 27. However, 24 hours before Parsanlal was scheduled to speak, the Authority’s former corporate communications co-ordinator, Nadira Persad, contacted Parsanlal informing him that his services would no longer be required. Persad, who no longer works at the NCRHA, refused to speak when contacted.

Contacted last week Parsanlal confirmed that he was scheduled to speak at the programme. “We had a contract and everything was on schedule. We (PMSL) forwarded them the proposal and they accepted; so everything was in place. However, on April 26, Ms Persad contacted me saying the programme had been cancelled because there was industrial unrest at the NCRHA and management did not think it was feasible to have this type of function at such a time because it would have sent the wrong signal,” the former minister said.

Despite the cancellation, Parsanlal said the NCRHA agreed to honour the financial commitment for the contractual services. However, around 10 pm, Parsanlal said he received a second call from Persad informing him that Health Minister Fuad Khan was against the cancellation of the programme and asked if he was available. Parsanlal said he declined the offer due to a commitment at another organisation.

The move came two weeks after the daughter-in-law of President George Maxwell Richards, Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards was sidelined to act as the medical director at the NCRHA. While the blame game continues at the NCRHA as to who recommended Abdool-Richards for the job, insiders told Sunday Guardian that “politics was at play” in making the decision.