And while that's his response on his current colleague, what does he have to say about allegations of corruption coming from a company owned by his former UDP colleague?
2 weeks ago, Brints, which is owned by Mark King, the Former UDP Minister of State, made a Facebook post basically alleging that they qualified to get the contract to provide security at the KHMH. But they weren't awarded it because they were allegedly being obliged to pay inducements. Brints says that these requests came from the decision makers of both the hospital and the Ministry. KHMH CEO, Michelle Hoare, told us that she couldn't comment when we asked her directly and so, we then asked the Minister about it.
He told us that the post was defamatory, and he intends to take action against Brints and its owner for the post which he says slanders him. Here's that conversation:
Hon. Pablo Marin - Minister of Health
"The only thing that I will comment [is] that I am taking 3 persons right now to court. I have my attorney looking at it because the way we work, everything is transparent. We have to get 3 bids, 4 bids. The only time that we didn't have 3 bids is what we are doingn with the morgues in Dangriga, and one in Cayo. We had to do those immediately because of the urgency of it."
"Things like in the bidding for Pharmaceuticals, and in any other contract, that you know you have the sufficient time, it has to come through a tendering process. So, I don't know exactly what is happening, but I know that the first thing that he did, or what I saw they put, [is] the Minister of Health. So, I saw that afterwards, they changed it, and they put the Deputy Minister of Health. But, anyway, I have to do what I am doing legally."
Reporter
"So, you're taking them to court for defamation, sir?"
Hon. Pablo Marin
"Exactly."
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