Roberts lashes ‘incompetent’ NSOs

[Socapro]

Roberts lashes ‘incompetent’ NSOs
By JULIEN NEAVES (T&T Newsday).

SPORTS Minister Anil Roberts has accused the Trinidad and Tobago Hockey Board (TTHB) and the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) of “incompetence” in making late requests for funding for tournaments and then blaming the ministry when funds are not disbursed in a timely manner.[/b]

But TTHB president Douglas Camacho has hit back at the minister for being “disingenuous” and reported that requests for funds for their recent Pan American tournament was made a year ago. He also reported that a number of sporting organisations were having difficulties in getting funding from the ministry but preferred to “hush their mouth” and hope to get assistance.

Roberts held a media conference yesterday at his ministry offices on Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain, to respond to comments in two newspaper articles about ministry funding for sport.

He first criticised the TTFA and by extension national Under-15 football coach Shawn Cooper for comments that the ministry was late with funding and they were therefore unable to secure flights for the inaugural CONCACAF Under-15 Championship being played in the Cayman Islands this month.

Roberts noted, however, that the TTFA never included a request for funding for the tournament in the Cayman Islands in their initial budget, which should be provided in March or April. He said they sent “a very late request”, after money had been allocated, on July 31 for a tournament scheduled to begin in August. He noted that despite the late request the ministry did their best to facilitate them but there was an unavailability of flights.

He also took issue with Camacho’s comments in an article in yesterday’s Newsday that it was not the board’s fault that the national squad received funds in “such an untimely manner” for the 2013 Field Hockey Championships in Ontario last week, for which they took home an historic Pan American bronze medal. Camacho had reported that financial requests to the Sports Ministry had been submitted “several weeks ahead of the competition”.

Roberts stressed that “several weeks” was very late and an organisation would normally get no funding in that case. He noted that the hockey squad’s first match was August 10, 2013 and the letter to ministry Permanent Secretary Ashwin Creed from the hockey board requesting funds on August 6, 2013.

“And Mr Douglas Camacho has the audacity to attack the ministry officials, the minister, the ministry, the public officials, for his total abject incompetence, his misinformation, his being a stranger to the truth,” he said.

Camacho, however, said the request for funds for that tournament was included in the budget the year before but the money was not disbursed. He reported that last year when the TTHB was asked to host the International Hockey Federation inaugural World League they explained to the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT) that the new tournament was not budgeted, and SPORTT would have to pay for it from a separate allocation.

Camacho noted that, contrary to the arrangement, SPORTT subsequently advised TTHB that their allocation had been used up with the World League and there was no funding for the Pan Am games. He said that SPORTT, hockey’s line organisation, advised TTHB to seek funding from the Sports Ministry.

He noted that about May this year they began approaching the ministry and had tried to set up meetings with no success.

He recalled at one point they were very close to pulling teams out of the tournament, but they tried a different channel and funds were disbursed at the “11th hour”.

Camacho noted the August 6 letter the minister referred to was requested by then acting Sports Minister Winston Peters.

[Socapro]

Minister blames administrators for sports teams’ woes
By Mark Pouchet (T&T Express).

INCOMPETENT

Minister of Sport Anil Roberts said yesterday national sporting organisations (NSOs) should not blame the Ministry and its workers for the incompetence of the NSOs’ administrators who submitted budgets late for overseas tournaments.
 
Roberts said there will be no “incompetence funding” for NSO administrators who skirt the normal protocol of submitting yearly budgets by April each year, especially after the Ministry and its public servants bend backwards to attempt facilitate extra-budgetary expenditure.
 
Roberts directly addressed the issue  of the budget requests of the successful  men’s senior hockey team who won bronze at the 2013 Pan American Cup hosted in Canada; the non-attendance of the T&T Under-15 team at a CONCACAF tournament in the Cayman Islands; and the failure of the country’s junior athletes to attend this wekend’s  Pan Am Junior Championships in Colombia.
 
Roberts said when the country should be celebrating Jehue Gordon’s and George Bovell’s World Championships gold and bronze medals respectively, he had to deal with misleading information being disseminated about funding by some NSOs.
 
“We cannot make (up) for the incompetence of officials in NSOs,” the Minister said at a press conference at his Abercromby Street office yesterday.
 
As proof, Roberts provided correspondence between the Ministry and the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association and the Trinidad and Tobago Hockey Board to illustrate his point about late budget submissions.
 
Roberts said 88 per cent of the country’s NSOs duly completed and submitted their budgets by April 2013.
 
Roberts said in the case of the TTFA, their initial budget did not include the Under-15 tournament in the Cayman Islands.
 
Then, the TTFA wrote on July 31 through their general secretary Sheldon Phillips  for a tournament starting in August.
 
“It is a very long process to  deal with public funds  for money that is budgeted. So it is absolutely ludicrous, it is incompetence of the highest order and it is  very easy to blame the Minister  and the Ministry  for your incompetence  in not allowing children to go to a tournament,” he said, claiming that the TTFA had enough money to hire highly paid coaches in Leo Beenhakker and Stephen Hart without funds from the Ministry but could not afford an Under-15 tournament.
 
Concerning the junior track team’s woes, the Minister said the NAAA’s funding request was only received two months ago.
 
In the case of the TTHB,  Roberts referred to correspondence signed by TTHB president Douglas Camacho on August 6, four days before the start of the Pan Am Cup,  making request for financial assistance.
 
Camacho was quoted in a daily newspaper as saying that ‘it was no fault of the Board (TTHB)  that the squad received funds in such an untimely manner.’ He said the TTHB had put forward their request several weeks ahead of the Pan Am Cup competition.
 
“You  (NSOs) should get no funding whatsoever based on the system of budget allocation, budget  request transparency and accountability,” Roberts said. “But as a competent understanding  president, he (Camacho) should have presented a budget well in advance. If you cannot do so, you should resign. He told an untruth because he did not submit it several weeks before,  he did it four days before the first match.”
 
He added: “I am deeply perturbed and disturbed that somebody  like Mr Camacho who has spent so much time in sport knows so little.”

[Flex]

Anil blasts TTFA, T&THB.
By Nicholas Clarke (Guardian).

...don’t blame me for your incompetence, says Minister

Minister of Sports Anil Roberts yesterday hit back at officials of the T&T Football Association and T&T Hockey Board following criticism of his Ministry regarding funding for their teams’ participation at recent foreign competitions.

Allegations were made that late payments by the Ministry forced T&T’s Under 15 football team to withdraw from a Concacaf tournament in the Cayman Islands and the T&T senior hockey team’s trip to the Pan American Field Hockey Championships in Canada was jeopardised because of a lack of support from the Ministry.

Speaking at the Ministry’s office in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Roberts claimed that the organisations had failed to follow proper procedure for requesting funds by submitting late proposals and later laid the blame on the Ministry for their own “incompetence.”

“Lately I have seen a trend where when you are under pressure, when you are incompetent, you blame the Ministry,” he said. “I would like these NGBs to understand that there are rules for accessing taxpayers money... There is no incompetence fund for people who cannot budget properly, so don’t blame us. The responsibility falls on the same people who are talking but it is my turn to talk now.”

The Minister explained that the complicated and time-consuming procedure did not allow for requests to be made just ahead of a team’s departure.

“Every sporting organisation, early in the year, by March or April, must present their wishlist, their budget for the upcoming fiscal period. After this we sit down here at the Ministry and go through what is possible and what is not... It’s a very long process to deal with public funds so when people like the TTFA send a request on such short notice, it is absolutely ludicrous.

Let me say that the TTFA never, on their initial budget, put anything about the Under 15 tournament in the Cayman Islands or Mars or anywhere on this planet or the universe. They then made a very late request on July 31 for a tournament that was due to begin in August. That is incompetence of the highest order.”

Despite the late request by the TTFA, Roberts said the Ministry tried its best, in the interest of the athletes, to put things in place though trouble booking flights had blocked them in the end. He also noted that the TTFA, without informing the Ministry, had hired elite coaches Leo Beenhakker and Stephen Hart for its senior national team at a price tag in the range of $75,000 US per month.

“When you allocated all that money to go towards the big boys, you did not care about children and then you came and made a late request and came and blamed the Ministry. Get your house in order and stop blaming the Ministry.”

Roberts also had harsh words for President of the T&T Hockey Board Douglas Camacho, who told the media the board had struggled to receive funding for the national team’s trip to Canada after putting in a request weeks in advance of the tournament. The Minister refutted his statements, claiming the Board’s request had been submitted just four days ahead of T&T’s first match on August 10.

“Mr Camacho, who has been president of the T&T Olympic Committee and TTHB, who has been involved in sport for so long, does not even understand the system up to now. You can spend many years in a job and learn absolutely nothing and talk absolute rubbish when you are ready,” he said, presenting the Board’s letter dated August 6.

“First and foremost, his statement about several weeks is not true... Mr Camacho has the audacity to attack the Ministry for his total abject incompetence, his misinformation, his being a stranger to the truth. As a competent president of a board you must understand the system and budget in advance and if you cannot so do you should resign. Further more, he told an untruth to the national media... I am deeply disturbed that somebody who has spent so much time in sport knows so little. Mr Camacho when you are speaking please speak the truth. Our children are listening.”
 
Roberts added that the Ministry managed to scrape together approximately $243,000 for the trip, during which T&T eventually won a bronze medal.

“We don’t have any money sitting down here waiting to swipe a card to give Mr Douglas Camacho four days before a tournament because he cannot do his job properly so I call on the associations to get more professional and if people like Mr Camacho cannot handle it, come out and let somebody who can handle it do the job.”

[Jack Horner]

Very well said Anil.

The TTFA needs to get their act together. Let me guess, they will blame Jack for this too.

They requested money in July for a tournament in August in which they knew about since May.

Put them in they place Anil.

Sheldon Phillips, please !!! like daddy Lincoln, he will make a 6 month big splash and then disappear for years. Does Sheldon know the T&T anthem? another free loader.

They pay the retired 06 Warriors all the money they got and now they are broke and can't pay for the future T&T players to go to Cayman Islands.

Real backwards if you asked me.

Poor planning and poor organization.

Tim Kee looking for credit but not thinking. He learn nothing from Jack for the 20 years under the TTFF where he was a puppet?

This man is a soft head who looking for good name but going about it in a stupid way.

Nobody cares about you Tim Kee, you want votes ?

He love the game but he stupid and is easily influenced.

[trini_stallion]

Anil hv a phone # or email...I want to personally tell him he's an asshole

[spideybuff]

I think we need to get on this man back a little more. You all read Lasana's article about how much more money this sporting administration get compared to the past? And every single sporting body (except boxing) seems to be struggling to get anything?

I am at the grassroots level and I am not seeing the development there either. The lifesport project stop long time. It will probably start again because of local...but that will be under the new budget. So what about all the money from the last 2 or 3 budgets that he claim went into that?

And he always in a club buying big drinks for the girls and waltzing around like he drunk. That image is so disgusting whenever i see him. As a Minister and parliamentary representative

Plus, not even a word about the auditor general report on the missing millions...

The 2001 stadiums still not usable so we have to be paying Jack rent in centre of excellence still...

Fetematch sides and events still have more access to the Hasely Crawford training grounds than national teams...

This man getting a free ride. At least Jack was performing while doing his bobol and f**kery

[Sam]

Only George Bovell could get last minute money.

[mal jeux]

Anil hv a phone # or email...I want to personally tell him he's an asshole

he far up austin's bottom so you'll need an enema to reach him

[Jay10]

Only George Bovell could get last minute money.

Sam, Bovell money does be str8 up. Remember his coach Anil travels with him sometimes.

[Football supporter]

Anil hv a phone # or email...I want to personally tell him he's an asshole

If you're going to send him an email, you can only really expect him to read it if you notified him in May that you will be sending it now.
Yuh can't expect a busy man like Anil to be sitting by his computer all day just waiting for an email that wasn't planned for.

[KND2]

Why not have a stardard disbursement of funds either in January or every quarter

So the people will know how much money they have and can budget and act accordingly

if they sepend all in Jan and have no money in Aug then they cannot complain.


Problem is Ministry want to be in everybody business and want to control day to day affairs

Send request for money for coach

Money for ticket

Money for this and that.


what a waste of time and effort

Run the money and move out the way Anil

if you feel man theifing the money call the police and investigate and Jail them.

an organization cannot be going every five minutes for money,

what just happen will happen

[Football supporter]

There would be some logic to Anils statements if he actually adhered to the same process. For example, where did the $180k come from for the funeral? Or did Anil know this fellah was going to die some months in advance so it was budgeted for? And if you can find $180k of, literally, dead money for that, what's the problem with other people having late requests?
steups. $180k for a funeral? Did they bury a whole team???

Once Anil responds to the auditors queries, he can claim the moral high ground. At the moment he sounds like a man on the FBI's most wanted list complaining about how a traffic cop gave him a speeding ticket incorrectly.

[Football supporter]

Why not have a stardard disbursement of funds either in January or every quarter

So the people will know how much money they have and can budget and act accordingly

if they sepend all in Jan and have no money in Aug then they cannot complain.


Problem is Ministry want to be in everybody business and want to control day to day affairs

Send request for money for coach

Money for ticket

Money for this and that.


what a waste of time and effort

Run the money and move out the way Anil

if you feel man theifing the money call the police and investigate and Jail them.

an organization cannot be going every five minutes for money,

what just happen will happen

KND, you just don't understand the complicated financial planning involved here. If they just allocated money to the various sports like, say, nearly every other nation in the world, there would be no way to shave a few dollars here or there, and then they would have no money to use for trips to Barcelona to watch a guy swimming.
The Minister of Sport should budget once a year, allocate funds as you suggested and then get on with devising strategies to develop our sports. I'd really like tosee Anil going to conferences across the world and bringing back new women ideas and concepts.

[Mose]

Anil is wrong, the NSO's aren't incompetent, they're stupid(!) How could the MoS be expected to come up with funds on a few weeks notice when they haven't paid the football coaches and technical staff all year?

[kiffysmooth]

Even if they submitted this late.. You as d minister of Sport will sit back and allow your country's youth to forfeit a tournament because you want to be able to say dat d NSOs incompetent... (Big steupes) Anil cannot tell me dat because it was submitted late, they couldn't find d money to give dem chirren... Dat is bullshit to d highest order..  He could ah send d team still for d Nation's pride and still put the organizations on blast after.. I'm sure they would have gotten the message still.. But to deliberately prevent a team from participating just to flex yuh muscles is asshole ting.. I'm sure when Charles and dem was using dey own money to support d team, it wasn't because dey submit budget late, is because dey jes never get no money on time.. I know d individual, because my moddah manage d TandT netball team and is d same dam ting.. Big world tournament and dey couldn't even get a dollar from Anil to buy uniforms.. Let he rock so oui

[Deeks]

Very well said Anil.

The TTFA needs to get their act together. Let me guess, they will blame Jack for this too.

They requested money in July for a tournament in August in which they knew about since May.

Put them in they place Anil.

Sheldon Phillips, please !!! like daddy Lincoln, he will make a 6 month big splash and then disappear for years. Does Sheldon know the T&T anthem? another free loader.

They pay the retired 06 Warriors all the money they got and now they are broke and can't pay for the future T&T players to go to Cayman Islands.

Real backwards if you asked me.

Poor planning and poor organization.

Tim Kee looking for credit but not thinking. He learn nothing from Jack for the 20 years under the TTFF where he was a puppet?

This man is a soft head who looking for good name but going about it in a stupid way.

Nobody cares about you Tim Kee, you want votes ?

He love the game but he stupid and is easily influenced.

man, doh come with your crap. Anil is a vindictive bozo! He against the TTFF ever since he up you or your father a....hole. He could bend over backwards for his favorite people but not for the U-15.

your father eh no slouch when it comes to incompetence. There was one WC when we had to travel to Haiti. The team leave TT late and missed the connecting flight in JA. They then had to fly in the next day in the early morning. They very said day of the game. We lost 2-0. That is competence from your father.

[lefty]

Very well said Anil.

The TTFA needs to get their act together. Let me guess, they will blame Jack for this too.

They requested money in July for a tournament in August in which they knew about since May.

Put them in they place Anil.

Sheldon Phillips, please !!! like daddy Lincoln, he will make a 6 month big splash and then disappear for years. Does Sheldon know the T&T anthem? another free loader.

They pay the retired 06 Warriors all the money they got and now they are broke and can't pay for the future T&T players to go to Cayman Islands.

Real backwards if you asked me.

Poor planning and poor organization.

Tim Kee looking for credit but not thinking. He learn nothing from Jack for the 20 years under the TTFF where he was a puppet?

This man is a soft head who looking for good name but going about it in a stupid way.

Nobody cares about you Tim Kee, you want votes ?

He love the game but he stupid and is easily influenced.

man, doh come with your crap. Anil is a vindictive bozo! He against the TTFF ever since he up you or your father a....hole. He could bend over backwards for his favorite people but not for the U-15.

your father eh no slouch when it comes to incompetence. There was one WC when we had to travel to Haiti. The team leave TT late and missed the connecting flight in JA. They then had to fly in the next day in the early morning. They very said day of the game. We lost 2-0. That is competence from your father.

I doh tink dat is jack son for real...but somebody familiar

[Flex]

Another thing that could have been work on was;

Even if the submission was late from the TTFA and the MoS couldn't get the transaction on time, why didn't he permit the TTFA to borrow the money from a third party and then reimburse them when the timing was better?

I am sure things could have been worked out if the communication was better betwen both parties?

If I know Sheldon Phillips he is definitely not lacking in that department, the others, I can't vouch for.

Anil Roberts is full of it and the people in T&T needs to stand up.

[ZANDOLIE]

so every other concacaf sports ministry from bermuda to guatemala could get money for football and hockey but not we?

anil probably spend more money on 'Spanish lessons' than sports

[ZANDOLIE]

I doh tink dat is jack son for real...but somebody familiar

I wonder who? 

[vb]

Another thing that could have been work on was;

Even if the submission was late from the TTFA and the MoS couldn't get the transaction on time, why didn't he permit the TTFA to borrow the money from a third party and then reimburse them when the timing was better?

I am sure things could have been worked out if the communication was better betwen both parties?

If I know Sheldon Phillips he is definitely not lacking in that department, the others, I can't vouch for.

Anil Roberts is full of it and the people in T&T needs to stand up.

I doh support Anil. But in the the case of the TTFA  something here weird.

WHY would they approach the MOS so late. And if so, Anil had two options (i) accept a valid reason for the lateness and give said money or (ii) with no valid reason let them feel the pain as to learn not to do this again.

As I said I eh no AR supporter but when dealing with the TTFA I want to know all the facts. These fellas eh easy nah.

VB

[lefty]

I doh tink dat is jack son for real...but somebody familiar

Lol, I wonder who? 

yuh know someting awah

[NYtriniwhiteboy..]

saw douglas the other night..I mentioned the hockey team and the issues..man was real vex and said he have nuttin to say about anil..
I really can't stand this sports minister nah

[ZANDOLIE]

I doh tink dat is jack son for real...but somebody familiar

Lol, I wonder who? 

yuh know someting awah

I know nothing. nothinggg!!!

[Flex]

Anil is highly inaccurate with his figures concerning Hart and Bennie. Tim Kee has stated publicly that the payment of both is not through ministry funds.

He had budget way back to pay the coaches and TD since 1 yr ago. Where is that money?

The auditor general say several cheques worth, millions have been unaccounted for, written and signed by the Ministry.

Talk about incompetence.

[SWF Reporter]

TTFA denies Sport Minister’s accusations but vows to avoid war
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868.com)

Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) general secretary Sheldon Phillips has denied charges of incompetence and a host of allegations by Sport Minister Anil Roberts at a press conference yesterday.

However, Phillips, who officially took up the football portfolio on 9 May 2013, was at pains to stress that the local football body did not think it productive to engage in an open battle with Roberts.

“Our outlook is that we are not interested in having a public tête-à-tête with a Ministry we see as a vital partner in the development of football in this country,” Phillip told Wired868. “It doesn’t do us or football any good.”

At a press conference yesterday, Roberts attacked the TTFA, Trinidad and Tobago Hockey Board (TTHB) and National Amateur Athletics Association (NAAA) who have all suffered recently due to late release of funds or no funding at all for national competition. Wired868 was not invited to the press conference.

The TTFA and NAAA were forced to withdraw youth teams from the Cayman Islands 2013 CONCACAF Under-15 Championship and the Colombia 2013 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships respectively. And the national men’s hockey team needed special dispensation from the International Hockey Federation (IHF), which allowed the squad to participate at the Canada 2013 Pan American Cup despite being two days late.

The men’s hockey team overcame the administrative issues to finish third and, in the process, became the first senior hockey team in over 40 years to secure a Pan Am medal.

Roberts insisted it was the three separate sporting entities and not his Sport Ministry that was incompetent. He claimed that the TTFA missed a deadline to submit a budget for its team to play in the CONCACAF Under-15 tournament.

“Every sporting organisation, early in the year, by March or April, must present their (…) budget for the upcoming fiscal period,” said Roberts, in a Trinidad Guardian report. “…They then made a very late request on July 31 for a tournament that was due to begin in August. That is incompetence of the highest order.”

Roberts pointed to a supposed two month window for National Sporting Organisations (NSO) to submit budgets rather than a specific date. Up to the time of publication, Wired868 did not receive word from the Sport Ministry as to whether a specific timeline exists and when it is.

On Tuesday August 20, Roberts promised to take a Cabinet note to Parliament to authorise rewards for national hurdler Jehue Gordon within three working days of his golden 400-metre performance at the Moscow 2013 World Championships. However, Roberts insisted that a two-month old funding request by the NAAA was “last minute” while it took the Ministry over three weeks to inform its travel agency to find airline tickets for the national under-15 footballers to head to the Cayman Islands.

In any case, Phillips said the TTFA could not possibly have complied with a “March or April” deadline since the CONCACAF only announced its youth tournament on 10 June 2013.

He also said that the TTFA budget for the under-15 team was submitted formally on July 25 while the Ministry of Sport was advised informally earlier.

Read more

[Brownsugar]

Ah eh read the article and I'm not going to.  However, I am sure I will be justified if I say Anil can go eff himself!!!!

[Bakes]

Very well said Anil.

The TTFA needs to get their act together. Let me guess, they will blame Jack for this too.

They requested money in July for a tournament in August in which they knew about since May.

Put them in they place Anil.

Sheldon Phillips, please !!! like daddy Lincoln, he will make a 6 month big splash and then disappear for years. Does Sheldon know the T&T anthem? another free loader.

They pay the retired 06 Warriors all the money they got and now they are broke and can't pay for the future T&T players to go to Cayman Islands.

Real backwards if you asked me.

Poor planning and poor organization.

Tim Kee looking for credit but not thinking. He learn nothing from Jack for the 20 years under the TTFF where he was a puppet?

This man is a soft head who looking for good name but going about it in a stupid way.

Nobody cares about you Tim Kee, you want votes ?

He love the game but he stupid and is easily influenced.

You starting to come real close to crossing the line on trolling.  If you don't know what it means, look it up... and act accordingly.

[royal]

all Tim Kee and Phillips had to do was to ask Malabar FC to get de money for dem.

[lefty]

I doh tink dat is jack son for real...but somebody familiar

Lol, I wonder who? 

yuh know someting awah

I know nothing. nothinggg!!!

hahahaha lol