Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Jun 14, 2009 News
By Fareeza Haniff
Over the past few weeks, pressure has been mounting on Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy for him to resign following allegations originating out of the United States of America by Roger Khan’s former attorney, Robert Simels.
Simels is alleging that it was Dr Ramsammy who facilitated the purchase of a laptop computer, capable of triangulating and intercepting telephone calls.
At a press conference on Wednesday, as he responded to calls for him to submit his resignation, Minister Ramsammy told members of the media that he does not ‘NEED’ to be a Minister of the Government, but he is here serving his country because his service is required.
Over the past three years, not only has Dr. Ramsammy thought of resigning from his position to pursue other opportunities; a day has not passed within these three years that he has not had an offer from many international agencies, to take up what some would term a ‘big appointment,’ he said. But the Minister said that he has refused “each and every one of these offers.”
“I’ve always refused these offers, even when they offered to pay me a hundred times what I’m earning right now. And that is because I am needed. When I am not needed, I will leave.
“I don’t ‘need’ to be Minister of Health for my own sake. More than 15 years ago when I came to this country, I took a salary of less than five per cent of what I was earning and what I earn today is less than ten per cent of what I can earn in the U.S, where I came from.” “I am much poorer. I am poorer today because I became a Minister of the Government.”
Dr. Ramsammy said that he does not own any house in Guyana, largely due to the fact that he cannot afford to pay for a house lot or afford to construct a house.
“If anyone wants to do a forensic audit to test that, they are welcome. I own no car and now when I leave this job, I would not be able to buy a car. I will depend on my family. I own a home in New York. I owned it since 1980 and from then to now, the house is the same,” the Health Minister said.
Surprisingly, all of Dr. Ramsammy’s children attended schools with loans. He explained that forensic audit will show that his son, who is a doctor, owes more than US$1 million for his education.
“I never asked a favour, I never tried to get them a scholarship.” Dr. Ramsammy said that he has never had a family vacation since he came to Guyana.
“My family and I want to but we can’t afford to do so. I don’t need anybody to lecture me on integrity. As a politician, as a Member of Parliament and as a Minister, I am used to people making allegations. This comes with the territory.”
Dr. Ramsammy became a Health Minister in 2001. He has a Ph.D in Biochemistry, St. John’s University, N.Y; an M.Sc., Biology, St. John’s University, N.Y and a B.Sc., Microbiology, Pace University, N.Y.
Minister Ramsammy has been a Post Doctoral Fellow (Neurochemistry) at the New York Institute of Developmental Disabilities and is a Senior Fellow, WINDRIF, St. Georges School of Medicine.
He has more than 70 scientific publications and is the author of ‘HIV/AIDS – A Public Health Challenge’.
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