Saturday, March 2 2013

Arima residents gathered outside the Arima District Health Facility to remind Minister of Finance, Larry Howai, of the promise made in the 2013 Budget for a new hospital in Arima.

Balliram Maharaj, former president of Friends of Arima Hospital, said five months after the budget, residents have not seen any sign of the government making plans to build a hospital.

“Almost every year on the budget speech, it was on the drawing board, that they would build the hospital.

“As a result of these broken promises, the Friends decided that Minister Howai, coming from the banking sector and not a political one, would bear fruits,” said Maharaj.

He said he is trusting Howai, “businessman to businessman,” to live up to this promise and ensure that the hospital will be built. He stated the reason why Arima needed a hospital was because many people would benefit.

Maharaj also pointed out that Arima has more than 300,000 people passing through because it has, two national stadiums, the only horse race track in the country, many schools, and was in close proximity to the airport, and the highway to Sangre Grande. If a serious natural disaster would occur, many lives would be saved if Arima had a hospital.

Maharaj said if the Friends do not see signs of the promise made to them for a hospital kept by next month, they will increase their action from a “gentle reminder” to a full protest.

Maharaj is hopeful that Howai will see to the hospital being built, but he said, “By October we want to see some sort of indication that the promises would be turned into reality”