When it comes to HEALTH government is a past master at wasting our funds.

Whether it is the real, hard, natural waste or the medical health both manage to waste our funds.

We have just learnt that Richard Simms, the director at the Department of Vehicle and Equipment Services (DVES), and Mark Bothwell, the manager of the Recreation Parks and Cemeteries Unit (RPCU) at the Public Works Department, have been transferred to the Department of Environmental Health (DEH).

Simms, now Acting Director, will try and sort out the numerous problems that have plagued the DEH for many, many months. Bothwell has been appointed his Assistant Director and will be based at the Solid Waste Dispatch Office.

Collections of our rubbish has been a hit and miss affair with the emphasis of the misses.

In a press release Bothwell said, “Garbage collection is extremely important to the health, beauty and reputation of the Cayman Islands. Our goal is to ensure that the work that we do to keep the Cayman Islands clean also provides the people of the country with value for money,”

Aha. ‘Value for money’.

Perhaps someone can explain to me how we, the public, who indirectly pay every civil servant, are getting value for money when the actual DEH Director, Roydell Carter, has been placed on unspecified leave for nearly as long as the rubbish problems?

Don’t we have a right to know?

Instead of the total waste of time (and I did intend using the word waste) Public Accounts Committee Ezzard Miller’s witch hunt against Chief Officer Jennifer Ahearn in the Ministry for lying to him, he would have been better employed delving into the Carter affair. From listening to the transcripts it was obvious to a school child that she was not lying when she clearly said she was relying on memory only.

The Deputy Governor, Franz Manderson, conducted an enquiry and ruled in Ahearn’s favour but that did not stop Miller from taking it to the LA in hopes of getting a prosecution made against her.

If that had succeeded it would have cost us money but Miller didn’t seem to mind that.

Next we have the continuing cost of all the Health Services Authority’s security officers that were suspended on full pay back in February for “irregularities”.

In the meantime not only are we paying for this we are also paying the bill for the cost of the private company employed in providing the security at the George Town Hospital.

Wouldn’t it have been less costly to wipe the slate clean and re-employ these security officers whilst watching them like a hawk? Any infringement, a sacking on the spot.

Of course not. Government couldn’t care a fig how much of our money they waste. They must have enquiries. And if I was to suggest an enquiry into these enquiries as to why they are taking so long, government would quickly say ‘Yes’. They would put that in place faster than it would to say Roydell Carter.

Waste is waste and he was once head of it.