Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar has reaffirmed that she is in good health and fully capable of executing her duties, amid growing public speculation over her recent absence from the capital.
Speaking at her first post-Cabinet news conference since her United National Congress (UNC)-led coalition secured a 26-seat victory in the April 28 general election, the 73-year-old prime minister addressed concerns about her well-being and work arrangements. “Let not your hearts be troubled, I am fully able and competent to discharge my duties,” she told reporters Thursday night, as her Cabinet members applauded.
Persad Bissessar, the first woman to serve as prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago and now in her second term in the role, said she was grateful for the public’s concern but emphasized there was no need to worry. “Some people are just missing seeing me. So when you don’t see me for a day, you think I have lost ten toes… Can I just show you I have all ten toes and all ten fingers?” she said with a smile. “I am in good health and I thank God for that, and my health remains in the hands of the Lord.”
The reassurance comes after speculation mounted over her decision to work from her home in Penal over the past four days rather than from her office in Port of Spain. Persad Bissessar explained that her choice of workspace is based on practicality and inclusivity, not health concerns.
“Thanks for expressing concern about office space. I will be working out of facilities in Port of Spain, central, south Trinidad and Tobago, and my home as necessary and convenient,” she said, adding that she does not receive a housing allowance for working remotely.
Citing the previous administration’s extensive use of virtual meetings, the prime minister noted that the People’s National Movement held 298 virtual Cabinet meetings between 2020 and 2025, along with 200 subcommittee sessions. “So it’s not unusual,” she said.
She defended the decision to work from various locations, saying, “It is also sharing our governance with a wide cross-section of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”
“The country doesn’t begin and end at the lighthouse [in Port of Spain]. When we use facilities in various parts of the islands, we can meet people from there as well. So we will not be a government for Port of Spain, of Port of Spain and by Port of Spain
