The Rivers state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Samson Parker has reiterated the state government’s commitment to ensure that the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, was carried out to its logical conclusion. In an interview with select journalists in the state, Parker said that the controversy surrounding the $50million (N7.5billion) Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital was unnecessary, adding that the state government terminated the initial arrangement it had with Clinotech, a Canadian medical firm; the Malaria Elimination Program and why the project has been delayed were for the best of the state. He noted that the reason the state set up a Task Force on Ebola and the Committee on Contact Tracing as well as the screening of dead bodies entering or leaving the state by health officials in its effort to forestall Ebola from spreading into Rivers State was yielding result. Senior Correspondent Daniel Abia was there.
The Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital is generating so much controversy, at what stage is the project and when will it be completed?
Personally, I don’t want to talk about the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital, but I am being forced to talk about it. Whatever issues we had with our initial partners have been sorted out. The project has been taken over by private concerns with the state losing nothing. Whatever was put into it before the contract was stopped will be recovered by the state. I know why I don’t want to disclose the identity of those who have taken over the Karibi Whyte project.
The Rivers State government is determined to push the project to completion. But because of the treacherous people around who think everything is politics, we have decided not to disclose the private consortium that has taken over the project. The project is no longer solely a government project and as such we have to respect the confidences of our partners who are in private business.
So, when will the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital be completed?
We don’t want to dwell on that for now. The date of completion is not our immediate concern.
Will it be completed before or by May 29, 2015?
Completing the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital before May 29, 2015, is not our main concern.
Will the hospital be commissioned by May 29 2015, or before May 29, 2015?
Let me assure you that by May 29 2015, every person will see the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital.
Is the project still being handled by Clinotech who are supposed to be your technical partners?
No! The Rivers State government has terminated the contract with Clinotech.
Why?
We had what I will refer to as irreconcilable differences with Clinotech. It was best for the Rivers State government to part our ways with Clinotech at the time we did. And I must say the same characters who are accusing us of fretting away $50 million are the same persons now saying that the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital does not exist.
Don’t you imagine that the people of Rivers State have a right to know how much of their commonwealth the state government is spending; how it is being spent and on what projects?
Of course, they do. Even at that, I don’t want to disclose the identity of the persons because of what they have gone through. There are some people out there who have deliberately chosen to reduce everything to politics. We are determined to push the Karibi Whyte project to completion.
Since you have resolved to push the project to completion, you can as well disclose when you intend to commission the hospital; after all, it is a public project, isn’t?
Yes, it is a public project, but I cannot tell you when it will be commissioned because we as a government are more interested in completing the project. We will not be intimidated by those who do not understand the magnitude of the project to make pre-emptive statements.
I hope you know that Rivers people are really curious about the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital project?
Of course, I do. We are working, I assure you. Few years ago, these same characters accused me of squandering the money that belongs to Rivers people and I was hounded by security agents from the police, Department of State Security Service, DSS, Independent Corrupt Practices Corruption, ICPC, all enquiring into the project, which is not good for the project. As you know, I have no immunity so if there was any wrongdoing, I would have been indicted. I was cleared on all records.
Since you were cleared on all available records, what then, delayed the project?
What our critics succeeded in doing is to delay the project. Now we are back on track. As you may have found out, the finances of the state have not been as good as it used to be in the past. Our vision is to partner with the private sector in the execution of our health projects. We have signed agreements with our new technical partners and now we have a team that is working quietly on this project. The team is now working with our consultants on the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital project and I would not want to throw spanners into what they are doing quietly because of politics. No money is currently being released by the state government; the monies that had been released have been accounted for and what is coming in now is foreign fund. So, I will like to keep the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital project as quiet as this.
What is the role of the Rivers State government in this new Public Private Participation arrangement?
The private persons are coming in to take over from where we were when we terminated our partnership with Clinotech.
On the strength of what you have said, there is definitely a site where the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital is located or where construction work is currently ongoing?
Of course, yes! At the appropriate time we will show you where the site is.
Considering the controversy surrounding the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital, could you show the media the site so that we can at least take photographs? The public is, indeed, curious?
You are so concerned about the site…
Yes, because the location of the site of the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital has mushroomed into a national issue, maybe because of the secrecy surrounding its location?
The location is not a secret. We as a government are very conscious of the treacherous intention of our political adversaries. We are keeping the location close to our chest so as to ward off distraction to our consultants and technical partners who are working assiduously to complete the project.
Initially, when Clinotech was involved, the cost of the proposed Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital was estimated at $50 million. Now that you have new technical partners, has the cost been reviewed?
Well, you can be sure that being a foreign company, they will be interested in all the details: what has been done before and what it will take to complete the project. Now, we have an estimate of about three hundred million.
You mean dollars or naira?
The new estimate is $3 million dollars. I will not say that that is the final figure. Suffice it to say that the cost is predicated on the standard of the hospital. They will build and run the hospital.
You mean Build, Operate and Transfer, BOT? Yes, indeed! The arrangement is similar to the one we have in the Kesley Harrison Hospital. The stake we have in it is that the technical partners will run the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital for a period of 25 years after which it will revert to the Rivers State government. If we are satisfied with the arrangement, then, we can sign another agreement to either extend it for another 25 years or for a shorter period of time. In summary, that is the arrangement we have on ground. We call it build, own, operate and transfer.
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Can you be specific on how much the Rivers State government expended on the project before it terminated its earlier contract with Clinotech?
The Rivers State government had spent about $30 million dollars, equivalent of N4.2billion at that time.
Is the quality and quantity of work done as regard the Karibi Whyte Specialist Hospital before the contract with Clinotech was terminated still valid in concrete terms: in terms of land; design; structure, among others?
The Rivers State government had spent $30 million or, equivalent of N4.2 billion before we terminated our relationship with Clinotech. The $3m is our own investment in the project.
Have you seen mosquitoes anywhere in the state for the past three years?
Yeah, there are mosquitoes in Rivers State.
Why, considering the anti-malaria spraying project Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi conceptualized through your ministry?
We need to understand the programme in the first place. Initially, we went into 10 local government areas using a method called Larvae Source Management; indoor residue screening; drug treatment; outdoor insecticide which culminate into what we call integrated vector management strategy which was first applied in Nigeria by the Rivers State.
Although the Larvae Source Management was being implemented before I came into office as commissioner of health, we still had the problem of malaria in the state. Then, the programme was called Malaria Control Programme. We can actually eliminate malaria from Rivers State. America has done it. Europe has done it, so, why can’t Africa do it, too. We sent a proposal to the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS before we stated. It was the pilot stage of the Malaria Control Programme and the record of our pilot project was forwarded to the federal ministry of health, ECOWAS and the World Health Organisation, WHO, and our Cuban partners. The outcome of the programme showed that the rate of malaria dropped in the 10 local governments where it was carried out in comparison to the other 13 local governments in the state. We also realized that most of the cost of the programme was in the importation of the materials, charges incurred while clearing the materials at the port and transportation. I took our records to the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu who then presented it to the National Council on Health and the council approved it as a viable strategy through which malaria can be eliminated in Nigeria. It was at that stage that the minister of health changed the name of project from malaria control programme to malaria elimination programme. The minister of health then appointed me as the chairman of the technical committee that prepared the national budget for the elimination of malaria in Nigeria to the National Economic Council. Now, with all this, why will a young man come forward to criticize a working governor that is determined to bring a paradigm shift in the treatment of malaria in Nigeria? It is because of this programme that ECOWAS named Governor Amaechi ECOWAS Ambassador. It was decided that a factory should be built in West Africa. And because of our contribution to the malaria elimination programme ECOWAS agreed that the factory should be built in Nigeria and the federal government has graciously asked that the factory should be sited in Rivers State because of our valuable contribution. Clearly, the malaria elimination programme is our contribution to Nigeria and humanity. ECOWAS, Venezuela, Ghana, Ivory Cost, are interested in investing in the factory that will be produce the anti-malaria insecticide. And since Governor Amaechi has expressed his willingness to take 50 per cent stake in the building of the factory for Rivers people, he has directed that we should stay action until the other interested parties contribute their funds. We are waiting for their funds to come in. We don’t want to start the project with our funds. Once their funds come in we will then release our funds and the factory will be built. The factory will create employment for our people. Again, building the factory here in Rivers State will guarantee the sustainability of the programme because it will give the state an unfettered access to the source of supply. So, the malaria elimination programme has been suspended in the interim until the other interested parties remit their funds.
You were probably the first Nigerian government official to visit Emory University in the US were the Ebola vaccine Zmapp was manufactured and where the two American missionaries that contacted the virus in Liberia were taken to for treatment following the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Nigeria through the Liberian-American, Dr. Patrick Sawyer. What was the aim of that visit?
I went to secure a working arrangement between Emory University and the Rivers State government. Next week, medical experts from the United States will arrive in Rivers State to train some of our medical personnel on standard procedure in preparedness for any attack of Ebola.
Now that Ebola is now in the state, how has the fight to combat it like?
Praise the Lord ooo! We are on top of it. We believe that with the corporation of the public, we should be able to contain the virus. Government is doing everything necessary to ensure that the virus does not spread further. I have said so based on my medical mind. What we are seeing here is a war situation. Let us be frank to ourselves: no matter how much barricade you put in the course of policing our borders to prevent the carriers of the Ebola virus from entering Nigeria, some people may escape and sneak in. Some people can be so desperate as to even plough their way through by paddling in canoes. What we need to do is to educate our people; sensitise our people but not to panic them, or put fear in them. Here in Rivers State, we have made sure that the education is sincere and devoid of panic. You have set up quarantine centre, how is the situation now?
Yes, we have opened a quarantine and treatment centre. We have set up an Ebola Task Force in the state. Under the task force is a Contact Tracing Committee to look out for secondary victims that may have come in contact with anyone who perchance had had contact with an Ebola carrier before coming into Rivers State.
How far have your ministry gone in sensitizing the public on how to avoid contacting the Ebola virus?
First, I must commend the Nigeria media for rising up to the challenge. The Nigeria media has done really well in sensitizing the public. Ebola is not transmitted in the air. One thing we must get clear is that Ebola can only be transmitted by sick persons. Healthy persons don’t transmit Ebola. By the time a victim begins to transmit Ebola, it will be difficult for that person to walk on the street. So, Nigerians should not be too scared. In furtherance of our sensitization programme, we have held an expansive meeting with other stakeholders: the police, army, navy, Air force, immigration, customs, National Security and Civil Defence Corps, officials of oil companies from Shell, Agip,Total as well as some oil serving companies.
Are the medical experts from the United State coming along with gears to protect your medical personnel that would have to treat patients just in case of any eventuality?
Although, we have already acquired some protective gears I can assure you that we are expecting more protective gears and medicines. It is our noble duty to protect our medical personnel.
Have you reviewed your policy on the handling of dead bodies in the state considering medical reports that over 70 per cent of Ebola victims in the past contacted the dreaded virus from the contact they had with their dead relations?
Oh yes, we have! As I leave here at the end of this interview, I am actually going to clear some dead bodies before they will be taken away from the hospital for burial. We have been very firm on the need for relations of the dead to take utmost precautions during burials. We have a functional health care board that has been very effective. Any corpse entering or leaving Rivers State must be cleared by appropriate authorities
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