April 28, Colombo (LNW): In a shocking and disgraceful move, the new government under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has abruptly pulled out 60 Navy officials who were critical to the construction of the Maharagama Apeksha Hospital, a vital cancer treatment facility for thousands of suffering patients.
This exposes either gross incompetence or a deliberate ploy by certain government officials. Either way, the victims are Sri Lanka’s cancer patients, left in the lurch as construction grinds to a halt.
Sources within the Ministry of Defence reveal President Dissanayake may have been unaware of this reckless decision. Instead, shadowy figures with vested interests have overruled repeated pleas from health officials to continue the project.
Who are these bureaucrats making life-and-death decisions? Why is the government ignoring the desperate need for this hospital? And most importantly, who stands to gain from its failure?
The Navy’s involvement was a cost-saving masterstroke by the project team, ensuring efficient construction at minimal expense. With their sudden withdrawal, the project faces massive delays and skyrocketing costs, funded by generous donors, including Sri Lankan expatriates.
“This is not just incompetence, it’s suspicious. Is this a deliberate attempt to undermine the efforts of people, even if it means letting cancer patients suffer”?, one of the disappointed project officials stated to LNW.
Why else would the government ignore health officials’ pleas and disrespect donors’ generosity? Why recall the Navy without a backup plan? We would like to pose this question to the government’s responsible officials.
