With his acceptance of an acting director appointment at the Strategic Services Agency (SSA), retired brigadier general Anthony Phillips-Spencer may be taking on his toughest assignment yet, after illustrious careers in the military and T&T’s foreign service.
He is now at the centre of a major shake-up at the intelligence agency, following the sudden removal retired major Roger Best, who was sent on administrative leave last weekend.
Immediately facing Phillips-Spencer is the task of reviewing and auditing all personnel, equipment and processes within the SSA—no small undertaking given the agency’s very colourful history. But he comes to the job with an impressive professional resume that includes serving under two presidents and attaining one of the most senior ranks in the T&T Defence Force (TTDF).
Phillips-Spencer capped his 35 years of military service in the position of vice-chief of defence staff and was subsequently appointed this country’s ambassador to the United States in June 2016.
He enlisted in the TTDF fresh out of Trinity College (Moka) in 1981 and worked his way through the ranks, taking on a diverse range of appointments over the years, including serving as aide de camp to Presidents Arthur NR Robinson and George Maxwell Richards, both now deceased.
And he will have to draw on all of those decades of experience at the helm of the SSA, an entity that plays a critical role in T&T’s national security, intelligence and anti-crime efforts—all critical given the country’s current crime woes.
In the position of director, even on a temporary basis, Phillips-Spencer takes on some major responsibilities for its operational, investigative and administrative mandates, in addition to serving as principal adviser to the National Security Minister.
However, there have been quite a few years during the SSA’s 29-year existence that have been clouded by controversy, usually surrounding its director.
The agency was dragged into an unflattering national spotlight with the revelation in 2010 that Reshmi Ramnarine had been leapfrogged over 22 of her seniors from a junior position as a technician to be appointed director.
One of the most vocal critics of that appointment, which was made relatively early in the term of the Kamla Persad-Bissessar People’s Partnership administration, was then Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley.
In a contribution to Parliament, he asked whether Ramnarine had been appointed “to do the work of the political directorate”.
Another former director, Carlton Dennie, who was fired from the agency in December 2015, appeared on a United National Congress (UNC) platform with allegations of racial bias in SSA hiring practices.
Those claims, directed at Dr Rowley’s People’s National Movement (PNM) administration, were met with strong denials and a threat of legal action.
The allegations prompted another former SSA director, Matthew Andrews, to call for a thorough investigation of the organisation.
Before last weekend’s dramatic developments, including lockdowns of the SSA’s offices, there was already a cloud hanging over the agency, with the Auditor General’s revelation that it had spent $2.1 billion since 2009, a period of 12 years, but has not submitted audited statements accounting for this expenditure.
All these developments have tainted public perceptions of the SSA over the years, so there will be considerable interest in the current shake-up and Phillips-Spencer’s role as he attempts to right that troubled entity.
Hopefully, with the support and best wishes of this nation, he will succeed in that unenviable task.