News
Booster doses for docs’ families irk other health workers
By Rathindra Kuruwita
President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS), Ravi Kumudesh yesterday criticised the decision to allocate the remaining 12,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to family members of doctors when there were many others who should be in priority groups who were not vaccinated.
Kumudesh said that Sri Lankans did not make a fuss when most of the AstraZeneca vaccine doses were allocated to the health sector because people understood the importance of protecting people who were likely to be exposed to SARS-CoV-2.
“Now, people are getting angry. At a time when there are many groups that are more vulnerable to the virus and are not inoculated, while the doctors have managed to secure the last doses of the vaccine for their family members and the health ministry has pushed aside other health sector staff from getting a share of the vaccine to their families. This is ugly and people will lose the respect they have for health workers,” he said.
On Monday some relatives of doctors were vaccinated at a doctors’ quarters by people in civilian clothing, the CMLS head said. “This is against the accepted norms of vaccination as there were no officers to officially keep tabs of what’s going on.
“Everyone wants to protect their families but there are segments that are much more exposed. For example, what about teachers? Since shops and food delivery places have been instructed to operate, what about shop owners and staff, food delivery persons and three-wheeler drivers? The priority list is not decided on your education or social status, it’s based on how exposed you are to the people. To be honest, there are some health sector staff that are less exposed to COVID-19 than the groups I mentioned,” Kumudesh said.
The CMLS President added that from the beginning of the vaccination process, the health Ministry created an environment that was conducive to fraud. After frontline staff was vaccinated; the AstraZeneca jab was administered to those over 60 and those in potential hotspots. When residents of hotspots were vaccinated; so-called VIPs, including doctors, managed to sneak in their friends and family to be vaccinated.
“This is how all these family members of doctors had got the first AstraZeneca jab. We have urged the President to look into this. If these family members are residents of hotspots, they can prove it easily. According to Health Ministry guidelines, we have to account for even a Paracetamol that we issue, but now not only does the Health Ministry openly admit that something fraudulent had taken place, it is also encouraging other health sector categories to fight over Sinopahrm quotas. This is ugly and this is something that can affect the reputation of health staff,” he said.
The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) yesterday demanded an immediate termination of what it called a “secretive and dangerous” defence agreement signed between Sri Lanka and India, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 05 April visit.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Nugegoda, FSP Education Secretary Pubudu Jagoda described the agreement as a “betrayal of the nation” and a “crime against the people,” urging the government to invoke Article 12 of the deal and exit it with the required three months’ notice.
Jagoda said the document, which surfaced on social media after being published by a news portal, appears to be the actual agreement signed between the two countries. “The government has not denied its authenticity. That silence is telling,” he said.
Jagoda added that the agreement bears the signatures of Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry Secretary Sampath Thuiyakontha and Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha.
“What’s most troubling,” Jagoda warned, “is that both governments attempted to keep the agreement under wraps. Unlike the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord, which was made public with all annexures, this agreement was hidden from the people, and even now, we don’t know how many other agreements exist between India and Sri Lanka.”
Jagoda said that a Right to Information request made on 04 April was met with a reply from the President’s Office stating that it had no copies of the agreement—raising serious concerns about transparency, even at the highest level. “One could question whether the President has seen it because his office does not have it,” Jagoda said.
The 12-clause of agreement reportedly covers areas such as exchange and training of military personnel, defence industry collaboration, classified information protection, and military medical services, including battlefield healthcare and telemedicine.
Jagoda said the definition of “classified information” in Clause 7 was alarmingly broad. “It allows India to label virtually anything as secret. Even weapons or military assets transferred under this agreement cannot be revealed—not even after the agreement ends,” he said, citing Clause 7.3.
Clause 10 prohibits either country from taking disputes to international courts or involving third-party mediators. “It’s like asking a rabbit to negotiate with a tiger,” Jagoda quipped, drawing parallels to the complications of the 1987 accord, which eventually saw Indian peacekeeping troops refusing to leave until a change in the Indian government.
Jagoda accused the NPP-led government of hypocrisy, pointing out that the JVP, the main component of the current regime, had vehemently opposed Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987. “Now they’ve gone and signed an even more dangerous deal,” he said.
Citing Clause 12, which allows either party to withdraw with three months’ notice, the FSP called on the government to act immediately to exit the pact. “We urge the people to unite and defeat these underhanded, sovereignty-eroding deals. The FSP stands ready to lead that fight,” Jagoda said.
The police yesterday arrested a group of students, including the Convener of the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF), Madushan Chandradith, during a protest held by the Allied Health Science Graduates’ Union in front of the Health Ministry yesterday.
The police obtained an order from Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court, earlier in the day, to prevent protesters from invading the Colombo Hospital Square and the Health Ministry.
Inspector General of Police T.M.W. Deshabandu Tennakoon is set to face formal questioning on Monday (19 May) over serious allegations of misconduct and abuse of power, parliamentary sources said yesterday.
A special Committee appointed to investigate the claims will commence formal proceedings next week, following several rounds of preliminary discussions held within the parliamentary complex in recent weeks.
The IGP has been officially notified to appear before the Committee and is expected to face the inquiry for the first time at 2:00 PM in Committee Room No. 8.
The Committee, which met again on Thursday (15) to finalise arrangements, is investigating allegations that Tennakoon misused his official powers in a manner deemed severe and improper.
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