Political analyst Dr John La Guerre believes Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley should give the population an update on his health by weekend.
“Failing that,” La Guerre said, “there would be some justification by the public in raising concerns. Then people would begin to assume that it is worse than they probably feared.”
Opposition MP Rodney Charles also expressed similar sentiments. He said while he understood the balance between intrusiveness and the need for privacy, Rowley had to make a judgment “as to what we ought to know.
“In the interest of full transparency, if we don’t have that it would feed speculation which does not auger well for good governance. The Prime Minister has a duty to let us know, bearing in mind he has a right to privacy also,” he added.
La Guerre and Charles’ comments came hours after Rowley returned from California, USA, yesterday, where he had checked into a clinic to undergo required tests. However, La Guerre admitted it may not be that Rowley would not reveal his health condition to the public.
“I don’t think Dr Rowley is holding back information. I think he probably wants to have consultation with his Cabinet to explain to them what the results of the various tests possibly,” La Guerre said.
Asked what would be a reasonable time frame within which Rowley should make an official statement on his health, La Guerre said by weekend.
“He (Rowley) should be in a position to reassure the public,” he said.
Yesterday, Rowley returned home at 5.30 am but did not hold his usual press conference at the VIP Lounge, Piarco International Airport.
Rowley, who indicated that matters pertaining to his health were personal, was absent for six working days. His specific days of travel were from August 4-15, a total of 11 days, inclusive of two weekends which equalled to six working days of absence. —SH