Two weeks after the post of Director of Health Service (DHS) officially became “redundant,” former DHS Dr. Marvin Manzanero says that he has still not gotten any official word from anyone in authority, whether verbally, electronically, or in writing.
Dr. Manzanero, who told us that he is still waiting for something in writing before making any decision on how to proceed with the matter, told our newsroom that despite dedicating 15 years and 4 months to the Ministry of Health and Wellness, nobody in authority has briefed him on any new developments relating to his future at the ministry.
In fact, according to Manzanero, the only update that he was privy to is the one that he saw by way of the evening news in which the Minister of Health and Wellness Michel Chebat had given the media.
Additionally, while Chebat had insisted, in that interview, that Manzanero had been offered one of the senior posts, Manzanero maintains that he did not get any such offer and that at this point he does not think that he will.
In his statement with the media, Chebat had also alluded that the “matter is now with the Ministry of Public service.” When The Reporter checked with Minister of Public Service Henry Charles Usher, he said, “The Ministry of Health will advise and work along with the Ministry of Public Service on the way forward.” While Usher refrained from making any other comment on whether Manzanero will be paid off for the services that he has contributed to the Ministry of Health and Wellness and whether a sum has been arranged, he said that all the details will be worked out in the upcoming days.
Dr. Manzanero’s redundancy stems from a raft of bills that were passed by the Ministry of Health and Wellness at the last sitting of the House of Representatives which effectively dismantled the post of DHS and introduced two “new” positions. At the time of the introduction of the bills, Minister Chebat had explained that the DHS’s post was overwhelmed to the point that there was a backlog in the system and so it needed to be split into two posts for efficiency.