Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said he will leaving Trinidad on Sunday to undergo a medical check-up in the United States.
At the post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall, Port of Spain, yesterday, Rowley said he has been postponing his international medical examination for two years now.
He said he feels ‘confident and comfortable’ as he noted his local doctors have been important but there is need for his US examination.
Rowley said he expects that when he returns he would have a report from the committee that was set up to evaluate the bids for the sale or lease of the Guaracara refinery.
Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited (TPHL) had stated that an evaluation committee, headed by permanent secretary in the Finance Ministry Vishnu Dhanpaul, would examine the bids and make a recommendation to the Cabinet.
Rowley said there are some ten submissions and ‘two or three of it appear to be usable’.
He said they are keen to have good news come out of it.
When asked about an election date and if his medical checks will cause further push back Rowley said ‘We are not obsessed with elections, we are obsessed with governing during the period that we are the Government of Trinidad of Tobago,’ he said.
He said the PNM is focused on elections but not obsessed because there are governmental actions to be taken and not all will be popular, or that will be accepted ‘willy nilly’.
He said they try to take actions that are in the wider acceptance sphere of the population.
Asked if a December general election is a possibility, Rowley said in the Westminster system there is always a possibility that elections would be called anytime.
Pressed as to whether he has a date in mind, he said: ‘A date? Election day.’
Rowley had previously said that 2020/2025 would be his last term in office but has shown sign of stepping down before the next election is called. He said the country will not have to wait long for the election.
