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Author Topic: T&T Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith Thread  (Read 19068 times)

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Offline Socapro

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Smith focuses on putting T&T on world sporting map
« Reply #30 on: March 10, 2016, 02:23:36 AM »
Smith focuses on putting T&T on world sporting map
By Published: Sean Nero (T&T Guardian)
Published: Thursday, March 10, 2016


Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs.

No new sporting facilities will be constructed during this term of the Keith Rowley-administration sports minister Darryl Smith has said.

Speaking at the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) inaugural Sports Marketing and Business of Sport Conference held at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, Dock Road, Port-of-Spain, with the theme Towards Economic Growth and Diversification–T&T Sport Rising to the Challenge, he said priority, however, would be given to the completion of major projects, which have already started.

The National Tennis Centre, the National Aquatic Centre, the Brian Lara Stadium and the Cycling Velodrome were major projects started under the Patrick Manning-led PNM administration that were yet to be completed.

“I am cool with passing through this five-year term and not building anything, finishing what we have, maintaining what we have and let the development fund pump into the young people of T&T,” he said.

The minister continued, “We have to move forward with one plan to put T&T on the map. Even the national sporting centres, the planning in terms of programmes.

“There is no way we going to full up that cycling track every weekend. There is no way we going have that (National) Tennis Centre filled to capacity every weekend. We know that. Just like the other stadias that we have now. And that is the problem. Every politician that comes in, because there is no data to guide them, infrastructure and development is the way forward to leave a legacy: ‘I build that!’”

Smith also addressed the issues related to multiple government ministries duplicating the role of sport ministry, which possessed the core competency in this field and declared that practice was at an end.

The minister said: “I was blown away when I met with the minister of education and the minister of culture to hear they also have sporting departments and sporting bodies doing the same thing we (are) doing and we have never met. There are people in all different sections, doing and fighting for the same thing. Why don’t we pool our resources so we could propel and do four or five things?

Smith added: “That is something we have been working on. Minister (of Education) Garcia and I have been having fantastic discussions so far, not only with UTT, with UWI and the primary and secondary schools, because benchmarking is something the chairman (SporTT) and I are trying to do. And so far, what we’ve been seeing are the models in terms of development in Australia, in Cuba and to our colleagues in Jamaica are obviously doing something right.”

But the absence of quality data, he lamented, remained the ministry’s biggest bugbear.

The TTOC initiative generated wide-spread support from national sporting organisations and sponsors representative and feature presentations from Jason Julien, deputy CEO for business generation at majority state owned bank First Citizens, Michael Phillip, chairman of the Sport Company of T&T (SporTT) former government ministry Conrad Enill and Racquel Moses, president at InvesTT.

TTOC president Brian Lewis, in his welcome remarks underscored the need for national governing bodies “to stop depending on state financing. There is a big wide world out there that we need to tap into. How do we make sport in Trinidad attractive to investors?"

Meanwhile, Ephraim Serrette, president of the National Association of Athletic Administration (NAAA) cited the absence of policy in sport and said: “In T&T we tend to just look at the social aspect of sport. We don't look at the economic aspect. The Global Sport Industry, however, is worth an estimated $500-600 billion USD, which is approximately 1.5 per cent of Global GDP.”

Like Smith, Serrette pointed to the data dilemma which impaired the innate willingness of administrators to succeed.
« Last Edit: March 10, 2016, 02:25:55 AM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

Offline Socapro

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Ministry of Sports, SporTT stay clear of NGB interference
« Reply #31 on: March 16, 2016, 03:34:55 PM »
Ministry of Sports, SporTT stay clear of NGB interference
Published: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 (T&T Guardian)


Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs.

The Ministry of Sports and Sport Company of T&T will not interfere in the business of NGBs in T&T. A release sent yesterday stated “The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, along with the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SporTT), having consulted with the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, advises the public that as Government entities, the Ministry and SporTT may monitor, but should not intervene in disputes within National Governing Bodies (NGBs) for sport.”

It added NGBs are independent sporting entities whose autonomy is sacrosanct under the Olympic Charter and general principles of sports law.

Dispute resolution and disciplinary proceedings are the sole purview of the NGBs, who must implement and enforce their own internal administrative processes.

They warned that intervention from government in these processes may incur country sanctions and threats of sanctions by international sporting organisations, as demonstrated by published cases involving Sri Lanka, Mexico, Kuwait and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“The end result of such sanctions would mean that athletes would be unable to participate at international games and tournaments under the flag of their country of birth but rather (in case of the Olympics) have to participate under the Olympic Flag” it stated.

However both ministry of sports and sport company were adamant it will not provide funds to NGBs that fail resolve disputes within it. “NGBs may be held accountable to the Government should the use of public funds be in question. Further, the Ministry responsible for sport may consider withholding funds from an NGB if it cannot resolve its internal disputes professionally and maturely or if executive decisions are not in keeping with best sporting practice or the tenets of the National Sport Policy” it stated.

They gave the assurance of continued support to NGBs in the future, saying “The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs and the Sports Company of T&T will continue to support NGBs in the conduct of their affairs and in the best interest of the athletes and support staff who represent T&T. We hope for a fair and speedy resolution to all disputes and for good governance in sport to be normalised in the affairs of all NGBs.”
« Last Edit: March 16, 2016, 03:48:31 PM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

Offline Flex

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Re: T&T Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith Thread
« Reply #32 on: May 24, 2017, 04:33:39 AM »
Smith on weekend trip to Tobago: A storm in a teacup
By Gyasi Merrique (Guardian).


Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, Darryl Smith, is describing questions surrounding his trip with a delegation of officials to Tobago last weekend as another storm in a teacup.

The issue arose yesterday after information leaked on social media revealed that a $92,000 bill had been racked up by a 12-member team of ministry and Sports Company of T&T officials for a stay at the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort.

The delegation, according to a blog, was on the island to attend the Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA) Sports Awards on Saturday.

However, the blog, posted by Sharmain Baboolal, along with supporting documents, claimed only nine of the 12 officials were initially invited by the THA. Three more people, the minister’s personal assistant Cindy Cupid, communications officer Kate Balthazar and Melissa Assam, executive assistant to the permanent secretary in the ministry, were added after a special request.

The hotel bill for 12 rooms for a three-night stay accounted for $77,910.43.

A further $10,400 was for the rental of four cars while $3,600 represented their airfare, bringing the overall cost to $91,910.43.

Responding to fire storm of debate which raged about abusive spending by his ministry, especially in light of the recent debate which was also sparked by Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe’s telephone bill during a trip to the Bahamas, Smith said it was all above board.

“Usually, when the minister rolls, his personal assistant, who is Cindy Cupid, who wouldn’t be invited, attends with the minister and that is a normal thing.

“Every where I go I take one of my assistants with me. I followed protocol, left (Trinidad) the same day of the awards, went to the awards, met with Mr Jomo Pitt (THA Secretary of Sport) on Sunday and left the Monday and went straight to the office. I could account for me and my assistant.”

Smith added: “The other persons, you would have to talk with the PS. I think the two people’s names I’m seeing is the permanent secretary’s assistant, who wouldn’t be invited and also communications.”

However, he said it was clear some people were up to mischief by releasing the information online.

“But of course the media and people would try and twist it politicise it. These people, all of them work at the ministry. I met all these people there, they are not my friends or anything like that so I don’t know what they trying to twist and say. But they were all invited and my request was just for my assistant, which is a normal thing.”

Along with Smith and Barrow, the initially invited guests were Director of Sport Patrice Charles, Deputy Director Darron Charles, Ronson Hackshaw, senior legal officer Tyrone Marcus, Director of Youth Affairs Earland Kent, Youth Officer III Emmanuel Charles and adviser to the minster Garvin Warwick.

Smith justified the size of the contingent, saying: “They (THA) would have invited a number of people from the ministry and Sports Company and what happened is there were a number of other events there as well (in Tobago). There was a marathon that the Sports Company and some other officials went to.

“The Permanent Secretary and the rest of the team would have met and done a site visit at the Dwight Yorke Stadium. So it was not just the awards, it was a couple of meetings and different things. We did infrastructural meetings, we did youth meetings, we did sport meetings and we went to the awards.

“What we did was take the opportunity this weekend to meet with everyone instead of going back and forth. This is just a storm in a teacup which someone is trying to politicise.”

Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Natasha Barrow, also confirmed to CNC3 last night that they had planned meetings with the THA beforehand and it was considered prudent to conduct them while they were on the island last weekend.

Addressing the issue of the cost of the trip meanwhile, Smith said it was normal for the ministry to foot its own bill although the officials made the trip on the invitation of the THA.

He reasoned that having used Caribbean Airlines and stayed at the Magdalena Grand, which are government-owned entities, it meant what ever was spent remained in Government coffers.

However, he distanced himself from the hotel arrangements made on his behalf.

“Nothing was requested by me. If I get invited to Tobago I notify the ministry and they make arrangements. I don’t know if its mandatory that the hotel itself issues a special room for ministers but there was no request from me.”

Contacted yesterday, several THA officials who were responsible for the organisation of the awards either declined to comment on questions over the details of the awards show or could not be reached via their cellphones.

However, the T&T Guardian understands that while the T&T delegation increased from nine to 12, several sports officers attached to the THA, who plan and execute sporting programmes in schools throughout the island, were disappointed at not being invited.

The THA Sports Awards ceremony was hosted on Saturday at the Magdalena Grand, where ten awards were handed out.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Flex

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Re: T&T Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith Thread
« Reply #33 on: January 01, 2018, 06:36:32 AM »
Sport Minister files for divorce from the truth; threatens to throw wife out of home.
Wired868.com.


If chivalry really is dead, maybe the Police Service should consider bringing in Sport Minister Darryl Smith for questioning.

The Diego Martin Central MP set a new mark for family values today—and Mr Live Wire is thinking ‘skid mark’—when he took to Facebook to threaten to throw his wife of 12 years and mother of his four children out of the family home.

Smith’s public threat followed the leaking of a video which showed the super-sized sweetman getting frisky with former Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs PRO Kate Balthazar.

“Frisky” is relative, of course. Smith lay on his back on a couch—as though waiting for the tide to come back in—while Kate did all the legwork. Minus the kissing, it was probably a perfect metaphor for his time as Sport Minister so far.

Smith, who blamed his “ex wife” for the leaked video, claimed to be setting the record straight via the social media.

“The facts are as follows: I am the person in the video footage inside my own home,” stated Smith, who would have been spot on if he stopped right there. But he didn’t.

“It is imperative to note,” said the Sport Minister, “that my marriage was dissolved by Order of the Family Court more than seven (7) months ago…”

Only, it wasn’t. Smith began divorce proceedings in early 2017 but, Wired868 was reliably informed, is still married and will be for another two months at least.

The Sport Minister is separated but not divorced. But, like most politicians, he tried to have it both ways. So, without explicitly using the word “divorced” in his press statement, he referred to his partner as “ex-wife”.

Not that Smith trying to have it both ways would come as a surprise to anyone who has followed his exploits at the Sport Ministry.

The inconvenient truth that Smith also neglected to mention in his statement was that the romantic interlude with his former employee—she has since swapped ministries—was taking place in the house that he shares, at present, with his wife while she was out.

Presumably without irony, Smith also said “my entire focus continues to be on the emotional well-being of my children” and followed that up with “my attorneys have written to [my wife] again, advising her that an application for an exclusion order will be forthcoming.”

So Smith will petition the court to have his wife and four children—ages nine, eight, six and three—tossed out ahead of schedule on the alleged grounds that she embarrassed him by leaking footage of what he got up to in their home.

Too bad Justice Rolston Nelson can’t take that one.

Smith’s statement:

On Friday December 22nd 2017, specific video footage from my home security system was taken by my ex-wife and leaked via social media.

It is imperative to note that my marriage was dissolved by Order of the Family Court more than seven (7) months ago.

[…] My entire focus continues to be on the emotional well-being of my children but I have now been forced by this leak and the further embellishment of this story to clarify the facts.

The facts are as follows:

I am the person in the video footage inside my own home.

This was a family setting in which my father and other family members were present. The rest of video footage (deliberately not leaked) clearly portrays context.

It is uncanny that the footage was leaked on the very day that the financial aspect of my divorce was finalised.

It is very unfortunate and quite sad, (but not the first time) that my ex-wife has revealed personal information to try and destabilise the family unit in this manner. Given that, my attorneys have written to her again, advising her that an application for an exclusion order will be forthcoming.

Equally as shameful, but not surprisingly (sic), is that some of my political opponents on social media have chosen to use this to pontificate and preach about moral behaviour in public office for their own myopic and self-serving agendas.

I want to thank my family, friends, constituents and all of my well wishers for the numerous texts and calls of support.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Flex

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Re: T&T Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith Thread
« Reply #34 on: March 25, 2018, 01:57:30 AM »
Sport Minister’s secretary gets $150,000 after dismissal.
By Carla Bridglal (Guardian).


Sex suit settled

Taxpayers, through the Ministry of Sport, have paid $150,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim brought by a former personal secretary to the minister, Darryl Smith.

Sources close to the ministry told Sunday Newsday the woman had alleged sexual impropriety against her by a high-ranking member of the ministry.

She was subsequently terminated. After challenging the ministry’s decision in the Industrial Court, she was awarded $150,000. Sunday Newsday understands she was also asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

The minister is distancing himself from the matter. In a response to Sunday Newsday via What’s App, Smith said: “While (name called) was at one point in time my assistant, I was not a party to any trade dispute at the Industrial Court nor any settlement agreement. This would be easily confirmed by any official documents you may have in your possession. I, therefore, am unable to provide any comment with respect to matters where I was clearly not a party.”

In a document stamped January 26, 2017, the ministry said the total paid to the woman amounted to an estimated savings of $84,360.

The plaintiff, who was represented by the National Union of Government and Federated Workers, initially made a claim for $234,360 – the total sum of her initial 30-month contract, plus a $45,360 gratuity payment.

The plaintiff had started work in January 2016 and was terminated in April. She was paid “one month’s salary in lieu of notice” in May, documents show. Sunday Newsday was told she was terminated for non-performance, although she had never been given any prior notice of dissatisfaction by her employers.

On January 24, 2017, Judith Joseph, one of the attorneys at the Ministry of Sport, sought approval for a settlement order and non-disclosure agreement, hopefully concluding a trade dispute brought against the ministry by the former personal secretary to Smith.

The following day, the permanent secretary, Natasha Barrow, signed off on the request, and on January 26, cheque #553 in the amount of $150,000 was issued. It was collected by Joseph.

A non-disclosure agreement is a contract in which the parties involved agree not to disclose the information therein. It is confidential and protects any type of proprietary information or trade secrets.

Such agreements are also common in sexual harassment cases, especially in the private sector, said one attorney to whom Sunday Newsday spoke, usually to mask distorted power dynamics where high-ranking personalities may have tried to take advantage of subordinates.

In the public sector, because of transparency and accountability policies, they are generally unheard of, especially in cases to do with an employee’s termination.

Another attorney, Lyndon Leu of Leu, Khan-Leu and Company, who agreed to give his opinion on the record, said non-disclosure agreements in sexual harassment cases in the private sector, and even in a state enterprise, aren’t unusual, especially if the information may be false, so as not to permanently tarnish reputations.

In a ministry, however, if public funds are used, this would be a matter of good governance, and something for the Auditor General to note. He added that it would not be wrong, per se, to use external counsel, but that would need to be authorised, likely by Cabinet, with the scope of the counsel outlined.

Leu also said it was rare to have non-disclosure agreements in the public sector because they usually relate to information that is not public in nature, but since the advent of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), there isn’t much in the public sector that isn’t considered public information.

Sunday Newsday requested all public documents pertaining to the case filed in the Industrial Court, but was informed via e-mail that after an investigation, “this particular matter… is exempt from under the FOIA.”

While $150,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to the ministry’s nearly $280 million budget, at the very least the transaction seems improper because it’s public funds and so should be more transparent.

Sunday Newsday was also told that the high-ranking official had consulted the ministry’s legal team on advice on how to settle the matter privately, but many refused to entertain the possibility because they were uncomfortable with the circumstances. Outside counsel was therefore sought. When the decision had been made to settle the matter, staff at the ministry refused on the grounds of personal integrity to follow through with the request to sign off on it. Sunday Newsday was reliably informed that former acting permanent secretary at the ministry Ian Ramdahin had also, during his time, raised questions about why an external lawyer was settling a matter for the ministry, but nothing came of the query.

When Barrow joined the ministry, she was the one who ultimately approved the payment.

Contacted by Sunday Newsday to clarify the situation, she said she could not remember the circumstances.

“I can’t recall everything that came across my desk at that time,” she said.

Barrow was also the permanent secretary who approved the Sport Ministry’s luxury three-day weekend jaunt at the Magdalena Grande hotel in Tobago last May, which cost taxpayers approximately $90,000. She was moved from the ministry after news of that event broke.

Joseph, the ministry’s legal officer, who prepared the note requesting the cheque, did not respond to calls for comment.

Sunday Newsday also contacted Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, as the highest legal officer in government, for clarification on non-disclosure policies involving state agencies and public funds, specifically the $150,000 payment barred from scrutiny because of the non-disclosure agreement.

Al-Rawi said this would require an understanding of the matter and the particulars, and said, “I am not familiar with the matter and therefore can’t speculate.”

On Friday during parliamentary questions, Opposition MP Barry Padarath asked if the Minister of Sport (in this case, acting minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly) could say whether a former personal secretary to the minister had brought industrial action for wrongful dismissal on the grounds of sexual harassment by a high-ranking official. His question was disallowed by Deputy Speaker Esmond Forde.


Natasha Barrow

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Flex

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Re: T&T Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith Thread
« Reply #35 on: April 09, 2019, 12:29:19 AM »
Rowley: Legal challenges delaying Smith report
By Gail Alexander (Guardian).


Prime Min­is­ter Dr Kei­th Row­ley says the re­port on the Sports Min­istry’s $150,000 set­tle­ment to a for­mer em­ploy­ee is the sub­ject of le­gal “chal­lenges.” On the ad­vice of the At­tor­ney Gen­er­al and the pub­lic ser­vice, he said the mat­ter’s be­ing re­viewed and when it’s ap­pro­pri­ate to present the re­port it will be done. He added that he couldn’t give a time­frame for fi­nal­i­sa­tion.

Row­ley said he didn’t give Green­vale, La Hor­quet­ta res­i­dents an as­sur­ance when flood mit­i­ga­tion work would be­gin. He said he re­cent­ly toured the ad­vanced state of prepa­ra­tions to deal with im­proved hy­draulic man­age­ment around Green­vale and sim­i­lar work was be­ing done all over T&T.

On the lease of the St Clair prop­er­ty owned by At­tor­ney Gen­er­al Faris Al-Rawi’s fam­i­ly for the CPO’s of­fice, Row­ley said steps were tak­en to de­ter­mine its val­ue and the of­fer­ing of the build­ing was de­ter­mined as suit­able by the rel­e­vant Gov­ern­ment de­part­ment and ap­pro­pri­ate ap­proval was done un­der the “nor­mal cir­cum­stances of Gov­ern­ment rental.”

“Ex­am­i­na­tion of this par­tic­u­lar arrange­ment will show there are ben­e­fits to the Gov­ern­ment,” Row­ley said, adding it was cheap­er to have done it that way.

Row­ley said he wasn’t aware that the pop­u­la­tion’s con­cerned about who owns the build­ing, but not­ed they’re con­cerned about what the Gov­ern­ment’s buy­ing and what the Gov­ern­ment gets val­ue for mon­ey for. He said the cri­te­ria for the arrange­ment was val­ue for mon­ey and suit­abil­i­ty of the struc­ture.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Flex

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Re: T&T Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith Thread
« Reply #36 on: July 15, 2020, 07:48:56 AM »
PM reveals real reason for firing Darryl Smith
By Sampson Nanton (Guardian).


Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has disclosed the real reason he fired former Sport Minister Darryl Smith, saying it had nothing to do with sexual harassment but because Smith interfered with the proper process of the Public Service, resulting in a financial cost to taxpayers.

The prime minister made the disclosure as he addressed a public meeting in support of the PNM's San Juan/Barataria general election candidate, Jason Williams on Tuesday night.

Smith was fired in April 2018.

At the time of the dismissal, there were reports of sexual misconduct in office and a subsequent payment of $150,000 made to the alleged victim Carrie-Ann Moreau, together with a Non-Disclosure Agreement that blocked any details from public scrutiny.

However, Dr Rowley said Tuesday that no complaint of sexual harassment came before him.

"In my investigation of the Darryl Smith situation there was no complaint before me and no document before me that had anything to do with sexual harassment. I communicated with the lawyer and he confirmed there was no complaint in there about sexual harassment," the prime minister said.

He told the meeting that while prime ministers were not obligated to say why they hire and fire ministers, he wanted to state why Smith was dismissed.
"I fired Darryl Smith for interfering improperly in the Public Service. He did not want to continue hiring the woman because, for reasons given to the PS (Permanent Secretary) she was unsatisfactory in her job. The PS would have been told that and the PS prepared a dismissal letter," he stated.

He continued: "When he did that and the PS put the letter of dismissal and put the complaints by the minister - a letter now exists about the person's unsatisfactory performance and incompetence - he then went to the PS and say, 'You can't do that...take out the cause because if she's going to get another job, that would act against that', and the PS did that."

The prime minister said those actions led to an industrial relations case to be made against the Ministry.

"The PS took that instruction from the Minister and removed the 'cause for dismissal' and violated the Industrial Relations understanding. You can't fire somebody and not say what the cause is," Dr Rowley said.

He said the PS exposed the taxpayer because it was an easy case for the union to take to the Industrial Court and the government eventually had to pay.

"The Ministry paid for the dismissal," he said, adding, "There was no payment for sexual harassment."

Dr Rowley said that after the dismissal, there was speculation about the real reason, with some people even saying that the prime minister was to blame for the controversy.

He told the meeting that this was one of only two "scandals" of his Government, the other being a high roaming bill run up by then Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe in 2017.

The bill exceeded $59,000 accrued over a four-day period while she was attending the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace in the Bahamas.

She had told the Parliament that it was done in error because she had failed to turn off the roaming feature on her phone.

Statement by PM's Office on April 10, 2018 re Smith's dismissal

When the prime minister dismissed Smith in April 2018, the Office of the Prime Minister issued the following statement:

"Today, (April 10, 2018) Prime Minister Dr the Honourable Keith Rowley advised Her Excellency Paula-Mae Weekes, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in keeping with the provision of Section 3(9) of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, to revoke the appointment of Mr Darryl Smith as Minister in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

This following a meeting between the Prime Minister, the Minister of Planning and Development, the Honourable Camille Robinson-Regis and Mr Smith during which new information came to the attention of the Prime Minister.

The meeting also resulted in the appointment of a committee to thoroughly review the circumstances surrounding the dismissal and payment of compensation to Ms Carrie-Ann Moreau at the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.

The committee is to be chaired by former Permanent Secretary and Human Resource Expert Ms Jackie Wilson, and includes Ms Folade Mutota of WINAD and Attorney-at-Law Ms Elaine Greene. The committee is expected to report in two weeks.

It is anticipated that all parties involved in any non-disclosure arrangement in this matter will lift such impediment so as to allow the fullest examination of the facts for the benefit of the public."

What happened next

The report submitted by the committee was deemed "unusable" by both the prime minister and Attorney General Faris Al Rawi.

In Parliament on December 10, 2019, Dr Rowley maintained that the matter involving Smith had ended.

Rowley pointed to the inability to use a report from the investigative committee and said that he had done the “ultimate” and fired Smith from the government.

Also in December 2019, former temporary senator Folade Mutota, one of three women who investigated Smith, broke months of silence via a scathing two-page letter in which she condemned what she described as the “boys club” mentality which kept women silent in the face of inappropriate and unwanted sexual conduct.

In her first public statement since the report which Mutota and two other women produced was deemed “unusable” by both men, Mutota said, “the conduct of the Honourable Prime Minister and Honourable Attorney General has been shameful, reprehensible, misogynistic, and an attack on women’s agency and women’s right to challenge injustice and to be heard.”

Days after, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar called for an urgent and immediate investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding what she deemed as "the alleged secret settlement of the sexual harassment lawsuit brought against former Minister of Sport Mr. Darryl Smith, with the payment of $150,000 from public funds."

The Opposition Leader wrote to the Commissioner of Police, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Chairman of the Integrity Commission, stating that there are “strong grounds for suspecting that several criminal offences may have been committed as well as the possible breach of several provisions of the Integrity in Public Life Act and the Code of Conduct”.

Persad-Bissessar said the report raised an undeniable prima facie case for the possibility of the commission of several very serious criminal offences, including conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice, misbehaviour in public office, and a breach of the Integrity in Public Life Act Chapter 22:01 by several persons, including the Prime Minister, the Attorney General, Smith, and the then Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.

In February 2020, police confirmed that Assistant Supt Juri of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau was conducting an investigation into a report of "alleged corruption" in the Smith matter.

Police said the investigation did not specifically involve Smith but all public servants at the Sport Ministry who were involved in the matter.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

 

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