Is it a case of too much Pride or Perversion?
By Kimberly Ramkhalawan
kramkhalawan@caribmagplus.com
The Oxford Astra Zeneca Vaccine was the first to hit the ground in late 2020 tackling the COVID-19 pandemic that grappled the world.
And with some of the company’s manufacturing taking place in India, it was also the first nation to offer the mass amounts of vaccines to the world, including England, where Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II was one of the first of notable persons to receive the inoculation.
Being the head of the Commonwealth, it was only natural that she publicly show her support and confidence in the vaccine manufactured by a British owned company.
Within the Caribbean, Barbados was one of the first islands to receive their batch of doses gifted from the Indian Government. They would graciously share their gift of 100,000 doses with fellow CARICOM neighbours Guyana and twin island state, Trinidad and Tobago, each getting approximately 4000 to 2000 doses respectively from the batch Barbados received. All while other island states in the region, Dominica, the British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, and the Bahamas would receive their vaccines as well, all of which were requested by their heads of State.
However, it would be Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley, who also happens to be Chairman of CARICOM, who would opt out to ask through the Indian High Commission based in Trinidad for these gifting doses India was distributing as a friendly gesture through its Vaccine Maitri programme.
In a public series called Conversations with the Prime Minister, Dr. Rowley would state “When you go to somebody asking for a gift, you are begging”.
This statement sent waves across the Caribbean, as it was interpreted that his CARICOM neighbours were begging for the so-called gifting of vaccines from the Indian Government.
But this seemingly issue of pride did not reveal itself here alone, as a few weeks prior to this statement, TT Minister of Health, Terrance Deyalsingh at a press conference thanked India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 2000 doses of vaccines it received from Barbados, when his thanks should have been directed to Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley. It would have appeared that the local health minister seemed embarrassed that the only way Trinidad and Tobago could have received vaccines at this point in time was via a gracious gift from neighbouring Barbados.
Here the questions started to pop up, as to why Trinidad and Tobago had not received its doses as well, prompting the Health Minister to state that it did not ask the Indian Government to gift the vaccines, as it was awaiting the World Health Organization’s vaccine approval to ensure of its safety for its citizens, despite administering 900 of the 2000 it received from Barbados to its frontline staff.
It was revealed that the government had neither made the request to secure its position on the list to receive vaccines from COVAX, the global vaccine programme charged with distributing it across the world, nor did it attempt to secure any other requests with other vaccine providers around the world.
This led to the natural question as to what was the TT government waiting on while it knew nations around the world were already queuing up for the first available vaccine since it was announced that research was being conducted to create one against the pandemic that crippled nations and their economies.
The timeline of statements made on T&T vaccine position began to keep interchanging each time the minister was questioned during its weekly press conferences held to update the public on its handling of the Pandemic.
Back tracking to October, the Health Minister revealed that the government had had secured some US$9.7m for COVID vaccines as it had plans to inoculate 33 percent of the population, approximately 462,000 citizens, but these doses would come in two separate tranches.
Four months would go by, and by this time Barbados and other islands began receiving their gifting of vaccines from India, of which Barbados PM Mia Mottley would share 2000 to Trinidad. The questions began to resurface of TT’s vaccine policy and when it would begin to receive the order it said it paid US$9.7M through COVAX. This time the questioning was coming from Opposition Leader Kamla Persad Bissessar.
With no forthwith answers from the Government, the former PM having shared diplomatic relations with India, took it upon herself to request for the vaccines from India, similar to what Barbados had done, writing the Indian Prime Minister for the vaccine.
She was publicly chastised for doing so, as the move was viewed as a diplomatic gaff. She was widely scoffed at for doing so by Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Amery Browne and the PM Rowley.
Talks began to swirl as to whether any discussions had even taken place with the local Indian High Commission based in Port of Spain and the TT Government, with its High Commissioner Arun Kumar Sahu stating to the media that no request had been made by the TT government through his consulate.
All this time, Grenada and St.Vincent and the Grenadines along with Dominica were in receipt of their gifting which were made through Trinidad and Tobago’s Indian High Commission.
The pressure clearly started to mount on the T&T government after other smaller islands began to receive their vaccines, including CARICOM giant, Guyana who received their shipment via Trinidad and Tobago’s local carrier, Caribbean Airlines. What was really happening with Trinidad and Tobago and its vaccines, were they real, where did the money go and why was it taking so long to reach?
It appeared that the TT Prime Minister, nor its Health Ministry never reached out for any vaccines at all.
Its local media continued to question plans to request the vaccines.
Varying statements would come and go in the following weeks of late February and early March that efforts were being made to get the vaccine via the COVAX facility and the African Union/ African Medicines Council, with T&T making a downpayment of US$1.477 or TT$10m to Covax since September 29th.
This statement would seem to later change when Health Minister Deyalsingh announced they had to pay a sum of US$148,084.06 for 33,600 doses to arrive by the end of March, and a payment was sent to Central Bank by the Ministry of Health to be deposited into the PAHO Revolving Fund.
Here he reinstated that the government was only committed to acquiring vaccines which had received WHO approvals, something the Oxford Astra Zeneca Vaccines manufactured by India still had not received. Deyalsingh would go on record saying that TT was still in talks with China’s Sinopharm for its vaccine, as well as purchasing through the African Medical Council.
At this point, local conglomerate, Ansa Mcal, made the simultaneous announcement that it was looking at getting the vaccines for its 6,000 plus staff and their families, and it was willing to work with the Government at doing so.
The company which is involved in selling vehicles, to importing goods, including a media house, knew that in order to maintain its business profitability, the nation needed to get vaccinated and reopen its borders for business to happen.
Meanwhile, another private sector company involved in the local pharmaceutical industry, seemed to be having discussions on a merger, raising red flags. The TT Pharmacy board expressed concerns to the TT Fair Trade Commission (TTFTC) over a merger that was happening between Agostini Group’s pharmaceutical arm, Smith Robertson and Company Limited’s, acquisition of two companies – Oscar Francois Ltd and Intersol Ltd, companies known as local distributers of drugs for vaccine manufacturing companies, Astra Zeneca, Pfizer, and Johnson and Johnson.
All this time, the public was asking questions, as it was seeing other islands begin to receive their vaccines ‘gifted’ to them, at little to no cost, including Guyana who received their shipment via Trinidad and Tobago’s local air carrier, Caribbean Airlines.
Questions alluding to whether the government was looking to pay for a vaccine first before receiving a gift and whether it was involved in dipping its hand in the cookie jar before considering the health of the nation in the midst of a global pandemic appeared to be its modus operandi.
This kind of attitude the government held that it was all about the money, was put on display, when in mid-March, TT’s Finance Minister, Colm Imbert in the Senate, stated in response to queries on government setting aside monies to purchase vaccines, that “government had allocated and will provide any funding whatsoever required for vaccines as and when they (the vaccines) become available. Whatever the cost is, the Government, through the Ministry of Finance, will source the funding to procure vaccines.”
Not too long after, Health Minister Deyalsingh said meetings were held with the private sector to assist in funding vaccines to the public, including Ansa Mcal, where it was revealed that government had arranged to buy the vaccines directly from Pfizer for a sum of US$8.4M the next day or risk losing the order. However, Ansa Mcal raised concerns over foreign exchange being available was expressed.
The company went on to ask on behalf of all the private sector players involved in the vaccine purchase, be given tax credits for 2021 for such purchases, while tax incentives for such philanthropy would be a welcomed ‘key source of funding’.
The confusion deepened when allegations surfaced of Minister Deyalsingh having affiliations with a local pharmaceutical manufacturer said to have a contract with Astra Zeneca.
The letter suggested a local manufacturing company VARY Medical and Scientific tried to procure the AstraZeneca vaccine from a Hong Kong-based company, HewaSky Quest, on behalf of the government of TT. What was the connection between this and the minister? It was alleged by two local bloggers that VARY Medical shared the address of the company owned by the Minister’s wife, questioning the coincidence.
But it still left the question as to why Trinidad and Tobago was in a rush to procure and purchase vaccines when it was made known to the Caribbean since January and February that India was in a position to gift 500,000 to the region, something CARICOM Secretary General Irwin La Roque had publicly thanked Indian PM Modi for doing via twitter.
However, Dr. Rowley who currently also sits as the CARICOM Chairman went on record during his Conversations with the Prime Minister television series, that at no time his colleagues as heads of governments could state they saw an official document stating the availability of 500,000 vaccines from India. He instead said it was clearly up to India’s High Commissioners to the respective CARICOM countries to express these bilateral arrangements with respective governments, and that countries to which a High Commissioner was accredited, would receive donations.
Dr. Rowley continued that “We have an ambassador here in Trinidad, if you are required, as happened in Guyana and the other small islands to know about this, then we should know about it here and there is a pathway.”
In his defense, the TT Prime Minister says he was simply not aware and while “people were claiming there were racial motives for refusing the vaccines from India, when this was not the case as India has not made any vaccine gift available to T&T”.
He added that his government had made several attempts to get vaccines from India directly, but its supplier said it was not taking any more orders. Its at this point he said while a few CARICOM countries had received gifts of vaccines from India, T&T would not beg for it, as when you go asking for a gift, that is not a gift but begging and there was no arrangement for T&T to vaccinate it population by begging.
In days following his TV special, PM Rowley was reported to have had meetings with the China’s President Xi Jinping with plans to purchase vaccines from their Sinopharm, while TT Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne was said to have met with the Indian High Commission Arun Kumar Sahu, where attempts were made to secure Trinidad and Tobago’s vaccine request.
However, the BBC reported that India had halted its export of the vaccines temporarily even as India was in the middle of a surge of cases.
Meanwhile, it was also seen that Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne had written to newly elected US President Joe Biden for assistance in acquiring the Astra Zeneca Vaccines, since the US announced it was willing to share its excess vaccines with bordering nations, using the fact that the Caribbean was an extended border with the US.
But wasn’t this the job of the current CARICOM Chairman to represent his fellow Heads of Government at a diplomatic level? After all this was part of his duty as chairman, representing CARICOM heads with those the region shared such strong bi-lateral agreements with spanning decades.
To TT Opposition Leader Kamla Persad Bissessar, this only fueled her question of whether its been a matter of pride the Honourable Prime Minister, Dr. Rowley holds when it comes to asking for help, even for his Caribbean neighbours.
All of this has transpired but still leaves the question of when exactly T&T will get its shipment of vaccines for its people.
2020 has been a long time for the world, but more so for the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Blunders of its people being trapped in foreign lands with its borders still closed, at least officially continues to be an issue for many.
At the time of this report, cases were beginning to slowly climb in T&T, with its Commissioner of Police attributing it to the recent spate of vigils and protests, thereby clamping down on any planned gatherings over the upcoming Easter holiday weekend. The true number of cases remains a source of uncertainty as its daily statistics show its current testing rate at an average of 100 per day.
The news also broke that the TT Ministry of Health announced that the vaccines will finally arrive on March 31, the 33,600 initially procured from COVAX.
Trinidad and Tobago, your neighbours are looking at you, they wish you well in securing your vaccines, hopefully not at a too hefty cost, pride or otherwise.