PM sees little value in meeting with Opposition

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Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says he’s uncertain what a meeting with the Opposition leader will do, since the last advice he got from her was to “go to hell.”

“…And I have no intention of going there. I have to look after the country,” Rowley added during yesterday’s TTT morning show.

He said the Opposition leader’s advice had come at a UNC Monday Night forum.

Rowley was responding to a caller who’d suggested a meeting with Kamla Persad-Bissessar, with media present.

Rowley said he didn’t think the UNC was taking the pandemic seriously, since they were only seeking opportunities to score political points, spreading misinformation, making the job “far more difficult” and undermining Government’s work.

He trashed Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal’s reference to “guinea pigs” (on Sinopharm vaccines) as “outright scandalous.”

Rowley said he’d spoken to Caricom colleagues and this wasn’t occurring.

He said he listened to Opposition recommendations—from appeals not to close bars to sunlight killing COVID—and spoke with them in Parliament. But he said their job was to create loss of confidence in Government.

“And the amount of lies! Every day is a new lie,” he said.

Rowley said while it was claimed 50,000 people went to Tobago for Easter, it must be seen as people travelling both ways, adding that if 25,000 were involved one way, there would be 25,000 returning.

He said at normal times, there are usually 15,000 to 20,000 travelling and the additional figure was about 5,000.

“(UNC’s) deliberately trying to mislead the population. We spend a lot of time that could be used for other things trying to undo the lies. That’s most difficult to manage in a pandemic—a lot of misinformation and lies.”

On why people are responding negatively to Government’s messaging, Rowley said, “That’s a good question.”

He, however, noted Opposition claims that he’d called for people to go to Tobago and people went.

Rowley also said there had been a “fair” amount of complaints on getting replies at vaccine appointment numbers and it was hoped there would be a switch to allow people to make reservations. He said people with comorbidities as disability can be vaccinated immediately and the Recovery Roadmap’s suggestions, which include the grant relief plan, are being used.