Pandora’s Box: The Billion-Dollar Hospital Mirage

Dear Editor,

While the official Ministry of Health narrative continues to spin a web of “unprecedented progress,” the Guyanese public is being sold a high-interest mirage. The silence at the Ogle and New Amsterdam hospital sites is not a “phase of construction”—it is a symptom of a massive, hidden corporate upheaval in Europe that has left our national healthcare future in a state of paralysis.

The red flags first raised by Azruddin Mohamed of the WIN Party and Sunday Stabroek, regarding the stagnation at Ogle are just the tip of a very deep, very dark iceberg. It is time to open Pandora’s Box and reveal why these “turnkey” projects have stalled while our national debt continues to climb.

1. The Shell Game: Where is Vamed?

For years, we were told the Austrian giant Vamed was our savior. But here is the reality the government won’t tell you: Vamed has been broken up and sold. In early 2025, its international project arm was offloaded to a German entity, Worldwide Hospitals Group (WWH).

When a contractor is sold mid-stream, the legal and financial “plumbing” of the project breaks. This transition has triggered a “Contractual Purgatory.” If the workers aren’t moving and the equipment isn’t arriving, it is because the new owners and the old lenders are locked in a room in Europe arguing over who holds the liability. Guyana is no longer a priority; we are a line item in a corporate liquidation.

2. The Debt Trap: Paying for Empty Shells

The Ogle and New Amsterdam projects are built on Export Credit Financing—billions of dollars in loans from UK Export Finance (UKEF) and Sweden’s EKN/SEK. These are not grants. These are loans that must be repaid with interest by your children.

• The Ogle Standoff: Despite President Ali’s public “displeasure” and empty threats of liquidated damages, the site remains a concrete skeleton.
• The New Amsterdam Hospital Myth: In Region Six, we were promised a “Level Five” teaching facility. Today, we have a field of piles and a signpost.

3. The “Equipment” Deception

The Ministry of Health claims these hospitals are “on track” for 2026. This is a technical impossibility. A hospital is only a hospital once it is “sealed”—dust-free, climate-controlled, and powered.

• High-tech MRI and CT suites cannot be installed in a building that is still open to the Guyanese elements.
• If you see no HVAC ducting, no specialized flooring, and no “Clean Room” preparation, there is no medical equipment on the horizon. We are currently paying interest on empty rooms.

4. The Economic Betrayal of Locals

While international firms play musical chairs with their corporate branding, local Guyanese subcontractors are being left in the lurch. Reports of payment delays and “milestone disputes” are rising. Our local labor force is being used as a political prop while the real decisions—and the real money—stay trapped in Vienna and Berlin.

THE HARD QUESTIONS: A Challenge to the Ministry of Health

Since the government refuses to be transparent, the media must demand answers to these “Hard Questions” immediately:

1. THE NOVATION CRISIS: Has the contract for the Ogle and New Amsterdam hospitals been officially transferred (novated) from Vamed to WWH? If so, what were the costs of this delay to the Guyanese taxpayer?
2. THE LOAN TRANCHES: Have the UK and Swedish lenders frozen the release of funds due to the change in ownership? Is the “stagnation” on-site a direct result of a “Stop Payment” order from European banks?
3. THE BUDGETARY MYSTERY:: Where is the $23 Billion?

In the 2022 Budget, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh allocated $12.4 Billion for this hospital. In the 2024 Budget, another $10.3 Billion was earmarked to “sustain” the project.

Here is the contradiction: This project is officially funded by a €161 Million loan from UK Export Finance (UKEF). Under these international agreements, the bank pays the contractor directly based on “deliverables”—actual work done.

• If the project is stalled and the building is an empty shell, what were the billions in local budgetary allocations used for? * Why is the Guyanese taxpayer pouring billions in cash into a project that is already covered by a 100% foreign loan? Is this a double-dip into the public purse?

3. THE EQUIPMENT PROCUREMENT: Provide the Bill of Lading for the medical equipment for Ogle. If it hasn’t been shipped, where is the €161 million currently sitting?
4. THE “PENALTY” BLUFF: The President threatened “liquidated damages” against Vamed in late 2024. Has a single cent been collected, or was that merely a theatrical performance for the cameras?
5. THE MOUNT SINAI GAP: If the buildings are stalled, what is the status of the “Mount Sinai” operational agreement? Are we paying international consultants to manage hospitals that don’t have roofs?

The “Healthcare Revolution” is currently a construction site graveyard. We demand the truth before the next billion is spent.