PM no longer working from her office as concerns rise over

EVEN as former Prime Minister Patrick Manning continues to battle his major health challenge at the San Fernando General Hospital, concerns are also being expressed about the health of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who has had a prolonged absence from work at the Office of the Prime Minister on St. Clair Avenue, St. Clair.

Unknown to the public, the Prime Minister, who has been photographed at several public engagements, including the expensive ceremony marking the second year of her election at United National Congress (UNC) political leader, rarely visits her office or even the official residence which neighbours the Diplomatic Centre and spends much of her time at her Palmiste home near San Fernando.

Sources at the Office of the Prime Minister tell TnT Mirror that on returning to the country from India, Persad-Bissessar flew by helicopter (her preferred means of transport) to her Palmiste home and did not report for duty for the entire week except for her Thursday morning appearance for the weekly Cabinet meeting.

Staff was informed that the PM had the flu and she had asked to have all her engagements cancelled.

The PM’s National Security Advisor, Gary Griffith, the person responsible for effecting her schedule and managing her logistics, confirmed that the India trip had taken its toll on everybody who went on that official visit.

“Almost everybody who went to India came down with some bug or the other, and this was because almost every day we were in the air. I can tell you that people were completely drained,” he said.

Mirror sources claim that the PM now operates from her Palmiste residence, where she holds late night meetings with her inner Cabinet, said to include Attorney General Anand Ramlogan; Local Government Minister Chandresh Sharma; Minister of the People and Social Development Glenn Ramadharsingh; Foreign Affairs and Communications Minister Suruj Rambachan; and Housing and the Environment Minister Dr. Roodal Moonilal. The Ministers all live in central or south Trinidad or in fairly close proximity to the PM’s home. The meetings are sometimes said to be long and go into the wee hours of the morning.

Griffith disputed the fact that the PM was absent from office, saying that the PM operates from three locations.

He denied that her illness on her return India had affected her duties.

“That is not true …it did not stop the Prime Minister from her work schedule, and while she might not have been able to do a hundred metres in 9.8 seconds, she was still able to work …”

And while she did not attend Parliament on Friday January 20, she did turn up for a function held that very day at the Centre Pointe Mall, Chaguanas, where she delivered a speech prior to the hand-over of leases to the former employees of Caroni (1975) Limited.

News reports of that speech showed the PM with a heavy cough as she delivered the address. The cough was even more pronounced the following day, when she addressed a National Security Policy Workshop held at the Hyatt. It was also remarked that she appeared weak, with trembling hands.

Government officials told TnT Mirror that the Prime Minister’s pronounced absence from the Office of the Prime Minister at St. Clair has had a significant impact on the pace at which the Government does business, with several key decisions and appointments requiring her sign-off being delayed.

She is now said to frequent the office on a weekly basis to attend Cabinet meetings and once a month when she chairs the meetings of the National Security Council.

Griffith, however, dismissed claims of heavy absenteeism from work by the PM as “totally untrue,” and chastised those who would have the temerity to question Persad-Bissessar’s work ethic.

According to him, “The PM continuously reports for duty,” adding: “I don’t know that she has a time line that works from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m … At times she works until all hours in the morning, then up next morning to attend to her duties.

“I can’t recall anywhere in her job specs specific hours of work. In fact, as PM she works 24 hours a day. If she does not perform in places (the office) where some people find she should, that’s their opinion.
“One must remember as well that it is not a case of the PM checking in and checking out at the OPM every day, she has three venues from which she works, including the Diplomatic Centre and her home,” he said.

Griffith said that he has worked with other prime ministers, including Basdeo Panday, who he recalled went to Tobago every weekend to play golf.

“He was very efficient at doing his work from Tobago, and I can tell you that the PM does more work than anybody (working) from the Office of the Prime Minister. All one has to do is look at the number of engagements where she attended in the last two months, sometimes she does three or four in one day.”

Griffith admits that her heavy schedules may have resulted in her arriving late at some functions but said it was not a major problem since some functions do not start or end at the scheduled times.

As to whether he was concerned about her health and her hectic schedule, Griffith said, “She may be putting her health at risk, but I am definitely not the one to recommend to the PM to cut down her activities.”