Trinidad’s Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs in a statement today slammed attacks on Prime Minister Keith Rowley by Guyana’s Health Ministry Advisor, Dr Leslie Ramsammy and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
The criticism by Ramsammy and the GCCI of Rowley pertained to the vaccines being used here. In a letter in today’s Stabroek News, Ramsammy said: “Prime Minister Rowley said that Trinidad and Tobago has the most vaccine doses already in country than any other country in CARICOM, except Guyana, but that Guyana’s vaccines do not count since they are not approved. All the vaccines in use in Guyana were registered and approved for use by Guyana’s Food and Drug Analyst Department”.
The statement by the Trinidad ministry said “At no point in time has Prime Minister ever disparaged the vaccine programme in Guyana, nor has he ever implied that the vaccines in use in Guyana are defective or unsafe; and it is extremely unfortunate that the Advisor to the Ministry of Health of Guyana would use falsehood to publicly attack the Prime Minister of a friendly neighbouring country”.
Rowley at a recent press conference had said:
“I want to indicate to you that the vaccination programme in Trinidad and Tobago is as good as or probably better than most, certainly in the CARICOM and worldwide. And for that basis I want to bring you up-to-date on as to where we are as a member of CARICOM. I brought a table here to show you …what our position is and I would ask you to look at the third column which says total vaccines received by country and there are fourteen CARICOM countries there and five CARICOM associates. Of the 14 CARICOM countries the only country in CARICOM that has received into its borders more vaccines than Trinidad and Tobago is Guyana. And the reason for that is that Guyana took a decision which we did not take, I have raised that at this platform before but I would raise it again, the Guyana Government took a decision that Trinidad & Tobago did not take, that is early in the proceedings to use vaccines that were not approved by World Health Organisation. As a result of that Guyana had a larger volume of vaccines available, we did not participate in that and that explains it. So if one is looking at WHO’s approved vaccines it would be clear that Trinidad and Tobago got within its borders more vaccines than any other CARICOM country and that includes Jamaica, that has twice the population of Trinidad and Tobago”.
The Trinidad statement today further called “upon the authorities in Guyana to disassociate themselves from such unwarranted, scurrilous and disrespectful attacks on the sitting Chairman of CARICOM, which incidentally is headquartered in Georgetown, Co-operative Republic of Guyana”.
The statement by the Trinidadian ministry follows:
The Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs has noted with concern the recent misleading, disrespectful, and potentially damaging comments in the Guyanese media ascribed to Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Advisor to the Ministry of Health of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, as well as a most reprehensible and slanderous Statement ascribed to the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), directed against the current Dr. the Honourable Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and current Chairman of CARICOM.
The comments and Statement attempt to associate Prime Minister Rowley with views which he does not hold and which he has never expressed. It is noteworthy that in his published commentary Dr. Ramsammy could offer not one single quotation from the Prime Minister to support his false allegations, nor did Dr. Ramsammy offer a shred of evidence to support his misleading claims. At no point in time has Prime Minister ever disparaged the vaccine programme in Guyana, nor has he ever implied that the vaccines in use in Guyana are defective or unsafe; and it is extremely unfortunate that the Advisor to the Ministry of Health of Guyana would use falsehood to publicly attack the Prime Minister of a friendly neighbouring country.
The Statement of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry as published in the Guyanese media also makes references to Prime Minister Rowley that are completely false and appear to simply repeat the fake narrative of Dr. Ramsammy. Further, that Chamber Statement’s disgusting slur to the effect that Prime Minister Rowley “fulfils his historical trait of demonstrating scant regard for the lives of Guyanese” must be regarded as a particularly scurrilous attack against the Chairman of CARICOM.
Ironically that slanderous Statement was issued by the Georgetown Chamber mere days after Prime Minister Rowley instructed the relevant arms of his Government to organise much needed relief supplies and assistance for Guyana, in response to the Government of Guyana`s request through CARICOM for help with their response to heavy floods. Further, Dr. Rowley, as Chairman of CARICOM has been well recognized for his robust and consistent advocacy and frequent communication with US and global leadership on behalf of all CARICOM people, including the people of Guyana, in pursuit of greater access to COVD-19 vaccines for our region. Additionally, Dr. Rowley intervened to help achieve the release of Guyanese fishermen detained in Venezuela earlier this year, he led CARICOM’s support for Guyana during a critical period of the border (controversy) with Venezuela, and he physically went to Guyana during the pandemic to work with fellow Heads to assist in CARICOM`s efforts toward ensuring that the outcome of Guyana`s most recent general elections was peaceful and reflective of the will of its people.
The Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs strongly condemns the published falsehoods against Prime Minister Rowley by Dr. Ramsammy and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and calls upon the authorities in Guyana to disassociate themselves from such unwarranted, scurrilous and disrespectful attacks on the sitting Chairman of CARICOM, which incidentally is headquartered in Georgetown, Co-operative Republic of Guyana.