Op­po­si­tion Leader and for­mer Prime Min­is­ter, Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar SC MP, is call­ing on the Row­ley Ad­min­is­tra­tion to tell the truth about their COVID-19 vac­cines ac­qui­si­tion.

She tossed out the chal­lenge on Mon­day night, dur­ing vir­tu­al po­lit­i­cal meet­ing held by the Unit­ed Na­tion­al Con­gress (UNC).

Mrs Per­sad-Bisses­sar wants Prime Min­is­ter Dr Kei­th Row­ley to ex­plain why this coun­try is so late in ac­quir­ing COVID-19 vac­cines, es­pe­cial­ly since oth­er Caribbean coun­tries al­ready have be­gun ad­min­is­ter­ing their dos­es.

“Bar­ba­dos got vac­cines be­fore Trinidad and To­ba­go.  How come?  Did we ask the Gov­ern­ment of In­dia?  Did we ask any gov­ern­ment?  We need an­swers,” she said.

“Is it true that the com­pa­ny in Trinidad and To­ba­go who is the deal­er or the agent or dis­trib­u­tor for As­traZeneca, is known to you, Mr Prime Min­is­ter, and to your min­is­ters? Is it that you did not want to go down the road like Mia Mot­t­ley did and ask the Gov­ern­ment of In­dia?  You did not want to ask them be­cause some com­pa­ny is lined up to be the im­porter and dis­trib­u­tor,” the op­po­si­tion leader queried.

She added: “I am not say­ing it is so.  I am ask­ing whether it is so, be­cause how could Bar­ba­dos ask and get?  Al­most every sin­gle CARI­COM coun­try, ex­cept us, got vac­cines from In­dia.  What is so wrong with Trinidad?”