Millien resigns from SporTT.
...no CEO, no executive chairman.
T&T Guardian Reports Darren Millien, the man who took over the day-to-day operations at the Sport Company of T&T (SporTT) following the resignation of the Executive Chairman last month, has resigned.
Efforts to contact Millien proved futile, however, a source at SporTT, who spoke to the T&T Guardian on condition of anonymity, confirmed the resignation.
Millien’s departure has left the agency responsible for implementation of the Ministry of Sport projects, and whose responsibilities it is for more than 14 sporting organisations, in limbo.
In 2008, the chief executive officer (CEO) Carol Charles Austin resigned and no one was appointed to the position since. The source said SporTT has several key positions vacant for many months which leaves the company severely understaffed. IT consultant, Kenneth Charles, resigned a month ago as executive chairman.
His resignation followed the March 7 television address to the nation by Sports Minister Gary Hunt, who sited the erection of the controversial $2 million national flag last year at the Hasely Crawford Stadium off Wrightson Road in Port-of-Spain, as a misstep.
No reason has been given for the resignation of Millien, a sport management consultant, who was acting as executive chairman.
It is understood the decisions of both Charles and Millien to relinquish their posts were as a result of the $2m flag issue.
In August 2008, Hunt formally introduced the new Board which included Charles as chairman; investment banker Mark Singh as vice chairman; Millien, marketing/brand manager; Sunita Maharaj; head coach Paul Newallo; attorney Elena Araujo; project manager Jonathan Paty; and engineer Matthew A Jones.
Hunt said in February the erection of the $2 million flag was a misstep. He admitted this following a public outcry against the cost of the project. “Although the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs continues to make great strides and have enjoyed considerable success, we have not always got it right,” Hunt said.
“There have been a few missteps along the way and one of these has been the construction of a national flag at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
The proposal to erect a national symbol at a facility that bears the name of our only Olympic gold medalist was a noble one, but there were errors in its implementation.
“The flag, erected last year, was intended to encourage national pride,” Hunt said, during a post-Cabinet news conference when questioned about the project last year.
He added then that he had since directed the Sports Company “to adjust its systems and policies to ensure that nothing like this occurs in the future.”
