Minister of Health Mike Darville has told parliament that the Bahamian government has dropped a political foreign policy bombshell. The government plans to scrap the current medical brigade program with the Cuban government and instead hire personnel directly.
Driven by mounting pressure from the Trump administration to abandon the decades-old practices by Caribbean governments to allow the US-sanctioned Cuban government to receive a portion of their earnings, the minister says the time has come to pull the plug on such arrangements.
Speaking in parliament, Darville also said the new arrangements will apply to Cuban teachers, noting that formal talks have already been held with Cuban government personnel and with some of the professionals working in the Bahamian islands regarding new arrangements that will comply with US administrative edicts.
“Following discussions with the US government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, my ministry negotiated new contractual terms with the Cuban recruitment agencies. After fruitful negotiations, we are prepared to cancel all existing contractual agreements and enter into a direct contractual agreement with Cuban healthcare professionals in The Bahamas. Those who agree to these terms will sign the new employment agreement by my ministry and remain in the country for deployment across the Family Islands,” he said.
Darville also stated that he had held talks in Cuba with top officials and recruitment agencies and informed them about signing individual contracts to ensure their continued stay on the island and to benefit from their full pay going forward.
Washington has made it clear that the current arrangements by regional governments from which the Cuban government benefits amount to alleged human trafficking and forced labor as a significant portion of their earnings is withheld by a third party, their government in Havana.
For The Bahamas, the announcement has come as no surprise as that nation, along with Guyana and Antigua had signaled plans to comply with the US demands and avoid any travel and other potential sanctions.
“All further recruitment exercises of Cuban teachers and healthcare workers are currently on hold pending the outcome of the ongoing discussions between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our relevant counterparts in the United States.”
There are thousands of such personnel working throughout the region. Most governments have clarified that the Cubans fill an essential gap in national healthcare. The area cannot do without them. As proof of this, Minister Darville announced plans to hire personnel from Africa and Asia to bolster numbers in the archipelago off Florida.
