MPATT denies Rowley’s charge

An MPATT official yesterday denied knowledge of Minister of Planning Dr Keith Rowley’s claim that on the eve of the 2001 General Elections, a small clique of doctors made a secret deal worth $40 million with the former UNC Government to negotiate their salaries individually.

Rowley had made the charge in Friday’s debate on the Medical Board (Amendment) Bill in the House of Representatives. Medical Practitioners Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MPATT) Assistant Secretary, Dr Lakhan Roop, said that while he couldn’t say if any other doctors had made a secret deal with the former UNC Government, as part of the doctor’s negotiating team, he himself certainly had not. He disclosed this to Sunday Newsday yesterday. Dr Roop said: “I can’t comment on whether any doctors negotiated with the UNC Government. Doctors negotiated with the RHAs at the time.” Was this a denial? Dr Roop said: “It’s not a denial. I have no links with the UNC. This administration keeps making allegations that the doctors, who are trying to get a salary that we can be properly compensated, are politically motivated. But it’s not a fair comment. “I was part of the negotiating team and I spoke with no one from the UNC camp, only people on the negotiating team for the RHAs.”