About Controversial U.B. Hospital Land, Osmond Martinez Says Empirical Data is Key

The newly-sworn-in minister was C.E.O. at the Ministry of Economic Development when the government negotiated the grant for the U.B. hospital. The land identified for that facility has become the subject of controversy because the government has announced that the hospital will be built on lands that will cost millions of dollars to purchase from a businessman believed to be close to a P.U.P. official. When asked if he would have objected to the costly purchase instead of building the hospital on the U.B. campus in Belmopan, Martinez said feasibility studies and empirical data are key in determining what decisions are to be made.

 

Dr. Osmond Martinez, Minister of State, Foreign Trade
“The main thing with investments is that you have to look at empirical data and scientific studies. And if scientific studies call for a decision, then it’s important to note that a decision, as hard as it may sound, we will have to execute it because the investments is a lot of money. So whenever you have a huge investment, that’s the reason why you will have feasibility studies. That is the reasons why you will have you will have experts, you know, to guide you and I’m sure that the Ministry of Health have received all these studies and guidance. Recommendations from the expert. So it’s important to be objective when you look at these things. Why? Because you know, like in Spanish, we have a saying, whatever you do good from the beginning, it ends well. And so it’s important that when we do big investments, that it’s done well from the beginning.”