PM Rowley confessed he made a mess of COVID19 vaccine acquisition, says Kamla

Trinidad and Tobago: Political leader of United National Congress (UNC), Kamla Persad Bissessar, levelled allegations on Prime Minister Keith Rowley of mishandling the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines and said that PM Rowley himself admitted to the nation that, "Our COVID-19 vaccination rollout is in shambles."

During his choreographed political platform, pretending to be a 'conversation', Rowley wanted to blame everyone but himself for the crisis we are in over the failure to obtain COVID-19 vaccine supplies.

Incredibly, Rowley claims that he does not know about India's Vaccine Maitri program or how other neighboring CARICOM states received generous donations of vaccines from India. India's Covid-19 vaccines were never a secret. Prime Minister Modi discussed how India can help the world through its vaccination program during his speech at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2020. "Perhaps Rowley forgot that he also addressed the 75th General Assembly of the United Nations," she added.

At one point, Rowley even degraded our neighbors, like Barbados, indicating that they had been 'vaccinated'. Rowley could not see the irony that the only vaccines our own citizens have taken so far are those generously donated by Barbados.

After months of advocating for the government's secret vaccination policy, "Rowley now acknowledges that his reliance on Covax was a serious mistake, as it would provide us with nowhere near the amount of vaccines we need," Kamla alleged.

Rowley also said we could not obtain any stocks from the open market. It is now entirely conceivable that Trinidad and Tobago will only be able to vaccinate citizens to acceptable levels next year. This means that while countries around the world, including our CARICOM neighbors, are working to reopen their economies, T&T will be isolated from the rest of the world.

"T&T is now facing a significant crisis due to PM Rowley's incompetent and uncompromising government."

"Oddly enough, while Rowley states that the government could not trade with the multitude of vaccine manufacturers worldwide, it has somehow already signed a non-disclosure agreement with Sinopharm to acquire their vaccine."

The statement further read: "Rowley's entire defense of the failure to secure vaccines from suppliers states that he will not sign off on a vaccine that does not have WHO approval. However, Sinopharm's own vaccine does not yet have such approval."

Trinidad and Tobago's citizens have the right to know the details of any vaccination arrangements made with taxpayers' money. "Why is there a need for secrecy with this acquisition of vaccines from China? This is exactly why I want to appeal the amendment of the honed PNM Amendment Act."

Kamla alleged that for the past five years, the PNM government has destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of citizens. "Now, with their gross negligence, they are playing recklessly with the lives of all the inhabitants of Trinidad and Tobago."