Crisis Bumps ICE Chief

A strike and a financial crisis at the Social Security (Caja) Administration has indirectly caused a shakeup at the nation's power, light and telecom agency, ICE.

Eduardo Doryan resigned his ICE post, ostensibly to defend himself against criticism of the way he ran the Caja from 2006 to 2010 before he took over at ICE. During his watch at the Caja, the system hemorrhaged red ink.

Despite the ostensible reason for Doryan's resignation, the naming of his successor by President Laura Chinchilla appeared suspiciously swift Wednesday, as if it had been in the works for some time.

Doryan's replacement is long-time ICE executive Teofilo de la Torre, who has been serving Chinchilla as Minister of the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications. De la Torre has little time to prepare himself since he is to take over Monday. Chinchilla did not immediately name a substitute for the vacancy de la Torre's appointment will leave in her cabinet.

The resignation follows a report last week by the PanAmerican Health Orgaization (OPS) that noted that serious financial deficits in the nation's health care system began in 2005 and accellerated during Doryan's watch which ended when he left to take over the ICE post in May 2010.

But he has far from received universal acclaim at ICE. Under his direction the Institute dragged its feet in accomodating itself to the opening up of the telecommunications system. The courts and even the lenient President Chinchilla lost patience with ICE, finally ordering an end to delays in accepting the incorporation of America Movil and Telefonica into the cell phone market.

The OPS noted that losses in the health care system began in 2005 even before Doryan took over but accellerated thereafter. The report blamed uncontrolled increases in hospital and clinic staffs (11,000 more in five years) and excessive payments in salaries and sick leave.

Doryan responded to the report without regrets, saying that "for me to take responsibility for (the crisis) would be like an ostrich, hiding my head." The Legislative Assembly has convened an investigating committee to probe into the causes of the crisis and possible remedies.

Meanwhile, the strike of health care workers over sick pay still continues. The Caja said that the first day of the strike (Tuesday) cost the institution some 400 million colones. Three-quarters of that cost came in cancelled appoints, a spokeman said.

But the rest were in expenses due to the closing down of laundries and medical supplies in hospitals. Supplies of diapers and liquid transfusions to keep patients hydrated were bought and outside laundry services contracted.

The union claimed that 80% of its members supported the strike but Caja officials maintained that the first day only 9% were involved and Dr. Rosa Climent, head of medical serices, said this declined to 5.7% Wednesday.

Meanwhile, court officials visited hospitals to determine the legality of the strike and the Ministry of Health issued an order to suspend the walkout immediately.

One of the questions lawmakers will be asking during the probe will be how the Caja reached a point of crisis over six years while the management continued business as usual. This sounds suspiciously like Doryan's time with ICE when the institute reacted as if it were still a telecommunications monopoly and only initiated steps toward improving service and customer relations as the two private companies were entering cell phone competition.

Doryan may turn out to be a liability for Chinchilla's National Liberation Party (PLN) in the 2014 elections. He first surfaced in politics as ex-President Jose Maria Figueres's Minister of Education and was named chief of the Caja by ex-President Oscar Arias, both PLN presidents.

After taking over as president in May, 2010, Chinchilla, still another PLN chief executive, named Doryan to ICE's top post.