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Author Topic: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015  (Read 9042 times)

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Offline davyjenny1

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Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« on: September 11, 2015, 08:45:24 AM »
Well boy... you have your  work cut out fuh yuh
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the impossible lies in a person determination.

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Offline Socapro

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2015, 09:06:46 AM »
Think he should do a good job.  :beermug:
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

Offline R45

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2015, 12:16:56 PM »
I would say he has big shoes to step into, but given how poor the last few ministers of sport were, mediocre performance would even be welcome. I'm wishing for no conflicts of interests and some sort of civil relationship with the TTFA.

Also, another Fatima old boy at the helm.. Anil was also a Fatima old boy, hope that's not a bad omen.

Offline pull stones

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2015, 02:20:17 PM »
I would say he has big shoes to step into, but given how poor the last few ministers of sport were, mediocre performance would even be welcome. I'm wishing for no conflicts of interests and some sort of civil relationship with the TTFA.

Also, another Fatima old boy at the helm.. Anil was also a Fatima old boy, hope that's not a bad omen.
how could there be conflict when they're on the same team? remember timkee is the treasurer of the PNM and rowley would not condone two of his members going at it. for now we can breath a sigh of relief and say thank god that football administration and the ministry of sport debacle has been put on hold for now. amen.

Offline Sando prince

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #4 on: September 11, 2015, 05:31:51 PM »

VIDEO Report; https://www.facebook.com/cnewslive/videos/10153571254490610/

Quote
The new Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith intends to focus on T&T's athletes. Speaking after his swearing-in on Friday, he said under the last administration, the Ministry of Sport had a lot of negative publicity and he intends to change that and put the focus back on the nation's athlete

Offline royal

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2015, 08:05:02 AM »

VIDEO Report; https://www.facebook.com/cnewslive/videos/10153571254490610/

Quote
The new Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith intends to focus on T&T's athletes. Speaking after his swearing-in on Friday, he said under the last administration, the Ministry of Sport had a lot of negative publicity and he intends to change that and put the focus back on the nation's athlete

you cannot focus on the athletes without getting the associations involved. I taught meeting with the various associations first would have been a better move.

Offline Sando prince

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #6 on: September 12, 2015, 08:24:57 AM »

VIDEO Report; https://www.facebook.com/CNC3Television/videos/10153627061962996/

Quote
10-YEAR-OLD GIRL HAS FIRST QUESTIONS FOR SPORT AND YOUTH AFFAIRS MINISTER

Minister Darryl Smith was only an hour into his job before he came under some heavy questioning from a ten-year-old.

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #7 on: September 12, 2015, 08:51:02 AM »

VIDEO Report; https://www.facebook.com/cnewslive/videos/10153571254490610/

Quote
The new Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith intends to focus on T&T's athletes. Speaking after his swearing-in on Friday, he said under the last administration, the Ministry of Sport had a lot of negative publicity and he intends to change that and put the focus back on the nation's athlete

you cannot focus on the athletes without getting the associations involved. I taught meeting with the various associations first would have been a better move.

He's referring to athlete-centered decision-making. Not having met with the associations yet, does not detract from anything. He's merely putting forward the approach he's encouraging all stakeholders to pursue.

Offline royal

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #8 on: September 12, 2015, 11:34:00 AM »
heard that the Ministry is in total shambles. At lot of de people who worked there are political appointments who only did what de minister wanted.People wanted money for all kinda projects and couldn't justify de money. De PS ask if she can be re assign to a functioning ministry. Finally de new minster work there yesterday from 1-7pm. Ah guess he has his work cut out for him.

 
« Last Edit: September 12, 2015, 11:38:34 AM by royal »

Offline Sando prince

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #9 on: October 06, 2015, 06:10:15 PM »


Quote

Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs The Hon. Darryl Smith invited National Swimmer Raven Toney to the budget presentation today. Raven attends Bishops Centenary and resides in DMC, Simeon Road Petit Valley. She was honored to be the Ministers guest as each MP was allowed only 1 invited guest. Minister Smith is committed to the youth of T&T

https://www.facebook.com/DarrylSmithDMC/photos/ms.c.eJw1yscNADAMw8CNAnfJ~_y~_Wgvh5IIlqC6WFUdwWr7PQ0pHRY39O~;4aeH8R08HXnBo4aEGQ~-.bps.a.876924165761367.1073741851.791793870941064/876924182428032/?type=3&theater

Offline Sando prince

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #10 on: November 11, 2015, 06:28:28 PM »


Smith: Millions lost in pre-Olympic revenue


http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2015-11-10/smith-millions-lost-pre-olympic-revenue


This country’s sports tourism ambitions have been dealt a serious blow due to the non-completion of major sports facilities costing the treasury millions in projected revenue says Sports Minister Darryl Smith.

While foreign states and international sporting organisations were still enquiring about the possibility of having access to the Brian Lara Stadium, National Cycling Velodrome, the George Bovell Aquatic Centre and National Tennis Centre and even the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Tobago, post September 7, for their pre-Rio, Brazil 2016 Olympic preparation, the minister lamented in a T&T Guardian interview, they all needed work.

The Dwight York Stadium, which was by no means new, however, was in need of remedial work.

Millions in revenue estimated by the former People’s Partnership Government from foreign countries desirous of setting up camps on local soil, en route to the Rio 2016 Olympic in Brazil, had been lost as once interested parties have redirected their business elsewhere, leading up to the Games.

“…inherited problem! That should have been thought out and planned before. Again, (it’s) only a month plus since we have been there (in government).

There is nothing that we could do. We are trying our best to ensure that they are completed, but more importantly, that the maintenance contracts, the tendering process, is put in place.

Again, that was poor management from the former administration. They know Olympics was coming up,” he said. Smith added, “They should have speeded up things, but instead they pushed certain things for elections gimmick: cutting of ribbons in certain places and so on, when they should have focused and realised that whoever was in government, the people of T&T would have benefitted with regards to utilising these arenas. We talk about sport tourism.

A lot of countries and sports organisation have asked about them, but they are not completed. This is where the focus should have been.”     

With respect to the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Smith said he planned to meet with Housing Minister Marlene Mc Donald and Noel Garcia, chairman of the Urban Development Company Limited (Udecott) to explore ways to cease the hemorrhaging of tax-payers funds and ultimately save the project.

He said the Keith Rowley-led administration had to ensure that no more tax-payer funds were wasted and as a consequence something positive had to happen.

“At this point I can’t comment because I have never seen it. It’s under Udecott. The ministry of sport has no drawings, no plans. So we have to have that meeting and we do a formal (site) visit.

We will let the public know what we plan to do with it. I am the most optimistic person that you’ll meet and I’m really hoping that everything was done with good intentions.

At the end of the day, I think we really wanted cricket to be at played there at the highest level, so it may be that they (the previous government) would have had some issue,” said Smith.

He continued, “Five years passed and nothing was done. Whether it was political or not, I don’t know what were their plans. Just like a number of other projects throughout T&T: the Diego Martin Northern Grounds, Mahaica Oval (Point Fortin), and a number of other projects, even National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA). Look at NAPA? All of a sudden it’s shut down because of no maintenance.

That’s for another place, another debate. All I know is the Brian Lara Stadium will be looked at and the best decision will be made for the tax payers of T&T.”

Whatever the challenges were associated with those projects they were all inherited, he said, and went onto slam the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led administration over its tardiness.

Any layman, said Smith, would have known when constructing structures such as those mentioned, maintenance contracts had to be put into effect.

“That wasn’t put in place. So right now those (facilities) are almost completed: 86, 95, 98 per cent completed and there is no maintenance contract.

There is no way we could have a handing over process without a proper tendering process with regards to who is going to maintain it, because by the time you get that handing over, the clock start ticking.

Who is going to be maintaining it? Who is going to be ensuring that the track is okay, the air conditioning is working, the lights are working and so on. So we now moving feverishly trying to put a tendering process in place to take care of the national centres maintained,” said the minister.
He continued, “We have the Olympics around the corner.

We want to make sure that the Olympic prospects would be able to use the cycling track, the swimming pool and so on, but they have to be completed. They haven’t been handed over as yet.

But being proactive as I am and the ministry is we are trying quickly to get the maintenance contracts so when that day comes, we could have it opened right away.”




Offline Flex

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #11 on: December 19, 2015, 05:33:58 AM »
Minister unveils fresh plans for sport in 2016
By JONATHAN RAMNANANSINGH (Newsday).


AFTER SPENDING just over 100 days in office as Minister of Sport, Darryl Smith yesterday unveiled a unique list of new administrative and practical techniques which have been designed to revamp his Ministry’s overall competencies towards national athletes and non-governmental organisations.

The recently appointed Minister announced these welcomed revelations at the VIP Lounge of the Hasely Crawford Stadium yesterday, to an audience comprising of multiple national sporting representatives who were clearly in full support of Smith’s fresh and creative ideas towards marketing sport on the global stage. However, the former Diego Martin Regional Corporation chairman made it clear early on, that sport, like all other national entities, would be unavoidably hampered by the continuously falling price of oil – Trinidad and Tobago’s biggest income earner.

Firstly, Smith admitted that a lot of work has already been done towards cleaning up and correcting the discrepancies of the past regime. While he opted to not dwell too much on these negative actions of the past, the Minister used his opening days in office to personally meet with members of every national sporting organisation – an act which may have never been done so early in by past holders of this post. This move to converse with the sporting bodies has already created a positive impact within each fraternity.

With respect to the formation of new sporting policies, Smith explained, “There are people who make sports policies, and I don’t know how that was done before, but I think the Ministry now has a better vision going forward.

Even while doing that document (policies) we will be still calling on a number of you (NSO’s) all to come back and meet with us and get your two cents in with regards to the policy.” He also touched on programmes affiliated to athlete assistance and ensured that these strategies will be reworked to affirm an easy and smooth transition forward.

“The private sector will be included with regards to bridging the gap towards funding,” he added. “We are hoping next year to implement SELL Sport.

We want to have a tradeshow and expo where we are going to encourage all the NGB’s to set up booths and sell to the private sector. One of the initiatives I have spoken about from day one is data collection. That is going to be key for this programme.

People don’t spend their money unless they know they’re getting a bang for their buck.” Smith is also working assiduously towards highlighting one national sport per week throughout 2016 in an effort to raise national awareness in both rural and urban areas.

He intends to go to the media/ schools and promote these sports so they can be more marketable and in tune with young people.

“Coming out of the meetings (with NSO’s), and this has not been approached to Parliament as yet, is we want to make the process of donating funds easier because it is apparently very tedious right now and the returns on tax breaks aren’t that attractive. This is not etched in stone but we would like to have discussions where people, personally, can donate and also get a tax break. It is done in the First World countries but we still have to work that out and ventilate that through the Minister of Finance and so on,” continued Minister Smith.

Another new initiative on Smith’s slate for 2016 is to increase the relations between his Ministry and local sports media.

He believes that media houses are privy to a lot of underground stories which are hardly brought to the forefront and is goal bound on ‘interviewing’ several media personalities to gain knowledge on what is happening under the radar.

He further revealed more new plans for the coming year.

“The Ministry has to also tighten up and we want to set the example for the NGOs with proper management and databases and maintenance. I don’t think we had good examples across the board in the Ministry before, so we must lead by example. One of the other key things that we want to push is that we want to work with the young people. The youth aspect is also kicked in the background, and this is why they were one of the first we met with.

We have to align ourselves a little better with our youth,” Smith noted.

Yesterday’s meeting featured a heavy cast of sporting administrators such as Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee president Brian Lewis, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sport Joan Mendes, acting SporTT chief executive officer Adrian Raymond, Trinidad Youth Council president Sean Nicholson and David King and Sudhir Ramessar, TT’s Paralympic Committee president and treasurer, respectively.

Smith concluded, “It’s been a fantastic experience thus far.

But we are still mindful of the financial situation in the country and across the globe. When we came in on September 7, it was approximately US$85 per barrel, now it’s at US$36, and no one can ignore that. This will affect us in several ways since it is our main stream of revenue. We remain optimistic.

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

Offline Jumbie

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #12 on: December 19, 2015, 04:21:23 PM »
wasn't oil around $53/b when the budget was announced? Anyone knows what price the budget was based on by chance?

Offline kounty

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #13 on: December 20, 2015, 01:51:29 PM »
wasn't oil around $53/b when the budget was announced? Anyone knows what price the budget was based on by chance?

don't quote me on it, but i vaguely remember reading $65 per barrel, and thinking to myself - they are basing a national budget on a rise in price of oil!?!
from a US perspective I've been hearing of many operations in New mexico, texas, louisina, oklahoma etc just waiting for a rise in oil price to get the oil out of the ground (which will drive the price back down), so my personal forecast is a low oil price for the forseeable future. Couple that with major US cities (the US consumes ~ 25% of the world's energy?) committing to renewables - biodiesels etc. - for their public buses, buildings etc..and I think now ight be a good time for T&T to come up with a plan B on how we going to earn our money.

Offline daryn

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #14 on: December 21, 2015, 02:38:48 PM »
wasn't oil around $53/b when the budget was announced? Anyone knows what price the budget was based on by chance?

If I remember correctly, Imbert said that they were working with an estimate of $45.

He cited two independent estimates (one from Moody's I think) at $50 and $53 and said they were working with $45 to leave a "buffer".

Offline Sando prince

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #15 on: December 22, 2015, 06:38:21 AM »

Diego Martin Central MP Darryl Smith surprised the kids in his constituency by delivering gifts. He said this is his third visit to the area since elections and he was happy to spread some Christmas cheer. See Video https://www.facebook.com/cnewslive/videos/10153756714265610/

Offline Sando prince

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #16 on: May 12, 2016, 05:06:30 PM »

Smith puts priority on Rio Olympics and World Cup 2018

http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-05-10/smith-puts-priority-rio-olympics-and-world-cup-2018

 Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Getting a winning team of athletes to the Rio, Brazil, Olympics this August and ensuring the Soca Warriors mount a successful campaign for the 21st FIFA World Cup in Russia, in 2018 remains the two clear priorities of the Keith Rowley-led administration, said Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Darryl Smith.

Even as finance minister Colm Imbert juggles the issues of lower than desired energy prices, which affected the amount of revenue government has collected to meet the needs of citizens, Smith said athletes preparing to represent T&T at these events should remain focused and allow government to address issues that arose.

Inside the final 100-day countdown to the 2016 Rio Olympics, Smith told the T&T Guardian he to date he’s still unable to produce a budget for both events.

“Like I have said before, it’s the first time I am doing a budget in pencil, so nothing is etched in stone. We living in a country where we know our economy relies on oil and gas. We have become accustomed to that. From day one, we said Olympics and the World Cup qualifier are our two top priorities,” he said.

Smith continued: “In gymnastics, it’s the first time we get a spot there; in rowing Ms Chow (Felice Aisha); the super heavyweight (boxer) in Mr Paul (Nigel); in cycling we have Mr Phillip (Njisane); and we have Mr Gordon (Jehue) with the hurdles. Of course, we are anticipating that Bovell (George) is in, and we are anticipating the track team. Ato Boldon is doing fantastic work with the women. With his camp, we have Richard “Torpedo” Thompson. We have Cleopatra (Borel) and a number of others out there. We are hoping we’ll have a big team going over. As much as we could possibly help, we will do our best to help the team.”

He added that the Ministry has stepped in to assist Olympic sailor Andrew Lewis, who required major medical treatment following a freak accident in Rio, last year, while conducting pre-Olympic training.

In addition, getting Olympic swimmer Bovell to major championships around the world at which he did this country proud was a cost the ministry absorbed in the athletes continued pursuit and delivery of excellence.

“We had to assist him. Mr Bovell is doing very good. I want to congratulate him on winning two gold medals. That wasn’t part of the budget. We assisted him. As you go through your seasons, things prop up. You qualify for things. We had to cut seven per cent from our budget. That represented $33 million dollars. We are watching the oil price.

“A lot of people are jumping up and saying the oil price up in the forties, but they don’t understand that three months down the road we would benefit from that. Minister (Colm) Imbert is doing a juggling act.

“But I will tell you this. It’s the earliest our Olympic athletes have ever got their cheques and they are very pleased about that.”

Offline Flex

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #17 on: May 24, 2017, 04:33:15 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: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #18 on: January 01, 2018, 06:36:18 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.

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #19 on: March 25, 2018, 01:57:14 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

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Offline asylumseeker

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #20 on: April 09, 2018, 09:36:14 AM »
Darryl Smith removed from Sports Ministry
Trinidad Express


Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on Monday announced a series of reassignment, revocations and ministerial appointments.

Rowley advised President Paula-Mae Weekes of the following in accordance with Sections 3(9) and 76(3) and 79(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago:

(i) reassign Mr. Darryl Smith as Minister in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

This reassignment follows intense pressure for Rowley to acting against Smith, and is came a day after the Sunday Express reported Smith's alleged unwanted sexual advances on his personal secretary Carrie-Ann Moreau, which she detailed in her witness statement in support of her claim for wrongful dismissal at the Industrial Court.

(ii) reassign Ms. Shamfa Cudjoe as Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs;

There had also been widespread criticism of the performance of Cudjoe as Tourism Minister and her inability to successfully articulate the country's tourism policy at a time where other Caribbean islands have been seeing record tourist arrivals.

(iii) reassign Mr. Randall Mitchell as Minister of Tourism;

Mitchell previous held the portfolio of Housing Minister.

(iv) revoke the appointment of Mr. Maxie Cuffie as Minister of Public Administration and Communications and reassign Mr. Cuffie as Minister in the Ministry of Public Administration and Communications;

Cuffie remains in the United States undergoing treatment for a debilitating stroke suffered last year which has left him unable to return to duties.

(v) appoint Ms. Marlene Mc Donald as Minister of Public Administration and Communications; and

Mc Donald previous was a Minister in the Ministry of Public Administration and Communications.

(vi) revoke the Prime Minister’s assignment as Minister with responsibility for Public Administration and Communications, and in addition to his present duties as Prime Minister, appoint him as Minister of Housing and Urban Development.

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #21 on: April 09, 2018, 05:14:21 PM »
(i) reassign Mr. Darryl Smith as Minister in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

like a forumite said, let him work with his constituency. Why give him another position where he may continue to do damage. he might straighten out. But this is the age of #MeToo. That stigma stick on him like laglee.

Offline Brownsugar

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #22 on: April 10, 2018, 06:28:12 PM »
(i) reassign Mr. Darryl Smith as Minister in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

like a forumite said, let him work with his constituency. Why give him another position where he may continue to do damage. he might straighten out. But this is the age of #MeToo. That stigma stick on him like laglee.

well he gone now......have no idea why The Keith didn't throw him out to begin with.....that made no sense.....steups!!
"...If yuh clothes tear up
Or yuh shoes burst off,
You could still jump up when music play.
Old lady, young baby, everybody could dingolay...
Dingolay, ay, ay, ay ay,
Dingolay ay, ay, ay..."

RIP Shadow....The legend will live on in music...

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #24 on: April 11, 2018, 06:25:11 PM »
(i) reassign Mr. Darryl Smith as Minister in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

like a forumite said, let him work with his constituency. Why give him another position where he may continue to do damage. he might straighten out. But this is the age of #MeToo. That stigma stick on him like laglee.

well he gone now......have no idea why The Keith didn't throw him out to begin with.....that made no sense.....steups!!

this.......but daryl was boasting dey couldn't fire him at one point so lets see where this goes...........but I was always in doubt about he, especially when in d one hand claimin he would clean up sports admin......but den always dey for ah selfie with d very said people in need of cleansing.....includin we very own DJWFA...um ah mean TTFA.......poser.......literally and figuratively dat one ....steups
I pity the fool....

Offline Deeks

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #25 on: April 11, 2018, 07:10:43 PM »
Look, DS was disappointing. His ministry was already scrunting for money because of the budget shortfall. All sports assoc. asking for help. Not to mention football. And he get caught up in a #MeToo harassment case which I think involved paying off the accuser(correct me). It was good to see they got Lara stadium(PNM project), the natatorium and velodrome(UNC projects) up and running. But being involve with this modern day sex scandal did neither him nor the PNM any favours. We want someone who could concentrate on doing the job without all the gallery.

Offline Flex

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Re: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #26 on: April 09, 2019, 12:29:33 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: Darryl Smith, Minister of Sport Trinidad and Tobago 2015
« Reply #27 on: July 15, 2020, 07:48:21 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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