Tufton rejects mayor’s politicking claim

HEALTH MINISTER Dr Christopher Tufton has flatly rejected a claim by Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels that his recent trip to the parish, which included a town hall meeting in Lucea on health issues, was more of a political ploy than a genuine endeavour.

“I try not to get involved in that kind of tit-for-tat discussion,” Tufton told The Gleaner following last Thursday’s Taking Responsibility Road Tour town hall meeting, which was advertised as a discussion on obesity. “We are very focused on what we do and I am prepared to meet with the parish council at any time because what we do must be in the interest of all citizens.”

At a recent meeting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation, of which Samuels is the chairman, the mayor said there was no need for Tufton to visit the parish to discuss obesity, noting that the meeting should have been about dengue and its effects on the people of the parish.

“The minister is coming to Hanover for the wrong reason. Obesity is important, yes, but at this time, people are fearful of dengue and that is what they want to hear about,” said Samuels, who likened the minister’s visit to political campaigning, especially since Tufton had recently visited with health officials in the parish.

However, Tufton argued that the large turnout from a wide cross section of the community, coupled with the attentiveness of the persons attending, shows that the meeting was the right thing to do, in terms of dissemination of information.

“Obesity is an issue in Hanover and across the country. A number of other issues were addressed at the town hall meeting, including dengue and the flu issue,” said Tufton. “I regret that the mayor was not present. Public health is everybody’s business and the discussion ought to be taken to the public.”

According to Tufton, the mayor’s statement may have helped in terms of the turnout for the event, by the publicity the sentiments he expressed generated.