Questions are mounting in Trinidad and Tobago after a submitted letter raised concerns over the CMO drug permit authority, alleging that special import permits for drugs may have been issued outside established legal procedures and without clear statutory backing.
Editor’s Note
The following letter was submitted for publication. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
Letter to the Editor
Subject: Come Clean, Mr CMO, Who Gave You That Authority
Dear Editor,
The facts are now on record, and they are damning. A senior public official admitted that special import permits for drugs do not go before the Drug Advisory Committee. That alone raises concern. But what follows is far more serious and demands immediate answers.
We are told clearly that the Drug Advisory Committee only deals with drugs that come through formal registration. So special import permits bypass that process entirely. Fine. Then the obvious question was asked. Who decides whether these permits are granted? The answer given was the Chief Medical Officer.
Now comes the issue that cannot be ignored. When asked to point to the provision in the Food and Drugs Act that gives the Chief Medical Officer the authority to grant these special import permits, the response was direct. None exist. That position was confirmed.
This is not confusion. This is not a misunderstanding. This is a clear admission that a critical function involving the importation of drugs into Trinidad and Tobago may have been exercised without a defined legal foundation.
So the question must now be put plainly.
Mr CMO, who gave you that authority?
Was this a decision you took upon yourself, or was it directed from above? Was this sanctioned by the former Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh? The country deserves a direct answer.
You cannot have a system where drugs are being brought into the country under a “special permit” process, bypassing the Drug Advisory Committee, while at the same time, there is no clear provision in law that authorizes the Chief Medical Officer to approve those permits. That is a breakdown of governance. That is a breach of proper procedure. That is a risk to public health.
Let us be clear about what is at stake. The importation of drugs is not a routine administrative task. It involves safety, quality, and the lives of citizens. That is why the law establishes structures like the Drug Advisory Committee. That is why there are procedures for registration and oversight. When those safeguards are bypassed and when decisions are made without clear legal authority, the entire system is compromised.
The former PNM administration cannot escape responsibility. Systems like this do not operate in isolation. They exist because they are allowed to exist. If the Chief Medical Officer was exercising such authority, then the Minister of Health at the time had a duty to know, to approve, or to stop it. Silence now will only deepen suspicion.
The public needs answers to very specific questions. How many special import permits were granted? Over what period? For which drugs? Who requested them? What documentation was used to justify approval? What safeguards were in place to ensure safety and compliance?
And most important, under what legal authority were these decisions made?
This is not politics. This is accountability. This is about whether the laws of Trinidad and Tobago were respected or ignored.
Mr CMO, the time for silence is over. Come clean. Tell the country who gave you that authority. If it came from the former Minister of Health, say so. If it did not, then explain how such power was exercised without legal backing.
The people of Trinidad and Tobago deserve transparency. They deserve a system that follows the law. And they deserve leaders who are prepared to answer when serious questions are raised.
Curtis Anthony OBRADY
