Sport Ministry gave QPCC more money than the Warriors
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com)Sport Minister Anil Roberts has allegedly again failed to keep his promise to Trinidad and Tobago football.
On 5 November 2012, Roberts told Parliament that the Sport Ministry would bankroll the Trinidad and Tobago national senior football team’s preliminary Caribbean Cup qualifying rounds in St Kitts and Nevis, which was held earlier this month.
Permanent Secretary Ashwin Creed repeated the vow to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) executive.
However, Wired868 was informed that not only did the Sport Ministry give the TTFF an “unusable cheque” on Tuesday 23 October 2012, which was written in the name of senior team manager William Wallace. But the value of the cheque was just $47,026—roughly one tenth of the team’s initial budget of $423,218, which included airfare, accommodation, per diems, match fees and other expenses.
Roberts’s alleged valuation of the Trinidad and Tobago’s Caribbean Cup campaign thus far—exclusive of airfare—is just short of the Sport Ministry’s contribution to an ongoing Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) eight-a-side football tournament.
A QPCC source claimed that the private member’s club was given $50,000 for the small goal competition, which is not open to members of the public.
Roberts, who lost his “Parkites” status after failing to keep up with subscriptions almost two decades ago, would not normally be able to play either. However, a resolution by the QPCC executive, last year, allows the Trinidad and Tobago Sport Minister to receive honourary membership along with the country’s Prime Minister.
And the Sport Minister, according to the QPCC source, has used his membership to participate in the tournament.
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