DISCREDITED PARASRAM HOLDS ON AS CMO

IN the increasingly peculiar Trinidad and Tobago society, a holder of the highest honour has had a major policy measure overturned and discredited by the court.

Equally bizarre is that the issue pertains to an age-old practice of a religion of which the honouree’s family members are the most prominent local practitioners.

Still, Dr. Roshan Parasram remains T&T’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and is unlikely to resign over the scandal.

The issue centres on the Government’s five-month ban on open-air pyre cremations during the Covid-19 medical epidemic.

The Government determined that such cremations posed health risks to those in attendance.

But the opposite is true.

This news agency reported at the time that open-air cremations were permitted in India, where they are widely practised by the largely Hindu population.

Medical experts stated that there was no risk of transmission of Covid-19 from a corpse.

Still, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley and Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh held firm to their disputed decision, despite queries and legal challenges.

Deyalsingh told the media in July 2021: “The regulations are developed by the Chief Medical Officer, based on all current scientific data.

“The Chief Medical Officer writes the protocols and I will sign off on it and will examine it and ask questions.”  

Parasram is the nephew of a well-known Hindu family, of which Dr. Rampersad Parasram is the faith’s local Dharmacharya (spiritual head).

The CMO refused to budge even when Member of Parliament Dinesh Rambally, himself a prominent Hindu cleric, pleaded for the policy to be revisited.

“There have been debilitating financial hardship, anxiety and despondency,” said the MP, whose Chaguanas West constituency has a significant Hindu population.

Eventually, Cindy-Ann Ramsaroop-Persad filed legal action after she was denied an open-pyre funeral upon the death of her father Seelochan Ramsaroop.

Ramsaroop-Persad’s case, argued by Anand Ramlogan, was upheld by Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams, who ruled that the ban was unconstitutional.

Justice Quinlan-Williams said that after the CMO’s scientific basis for the ban was discredited, there was no justification for the regulations.

An aggrieved Ramsaroop-Persad has spoken of her hurt and anxiety over the measure, stating that her father was a devout Hindu.

The CMO “did a reckless job” and “mismanaged the issue,” she stated.

Still, Parasram remains the leading official in the public health sector and is holding onto the highest honour, the Order of Trinidad and Tobago (ORTT).

The citation credited him for his “unflappable behaviour and professional approach.”

Further, he “brought his profession to new heights and has given unwavering, distinguished and outstanding service to Trinidad and Tobago.”

The scandal exposes the pitfalls of honouring a professional in the middle of his career, especially, in a political environment.

It also highlights the absence of due diligence before issuing national awards, including the highest and most prestigious.

It further reveals the mediocrity that prevails in the highest offices in the land.

While Parasram would hold onto his ORTT, he will forever be remembered for imposing an unconstitutional and unjust policy when he, of all people, should have known better.