One other man who does not want to see it go down is Luke Espat. You saw him appear earlier as one of the principals in the Belize Cruise Terminal Project. Well, he was also a director of Universal - one who sat at the right hand of his close associate Dr. Victor Lizarraga. He discussed the possibilities and risks that the public healthcare regime poses for Universal.
Jules Vasquez,
Is the government making the wrong decision to take over one hundred percent?
Luke Espat,
"I think so personally because they are doing it based on a political decision and not on a savvy business decision."
Jules Vasquez,
But conversely, it could be argued that the management of Universal was so incompetent and inept at managing financially the institution's affairs that government has no choice but to take over one hundred percent.
Luke Espat,
"I think you are so far from it, it is unbelievable. I think that government should look very very seriously as to how they handle the Universal affair, in the sense of the institution. Not to the fact that it was to a public domain. I think it is important that you don't get it bogged down in the type of bureaucracy surrounding health service in this country. I think that as long as government looks at it very responsibly, we will have solved two things: we would have ensured to the world that we still have a proper tertiary facility here which is essential to attract investment, it is absolutely essential."
And though government has decided on a 100% takeover, no operational plans have been finalized and Universal remains open for business as usual.
