The Ministry of Finance is now investigating claims by Trinidad Tourism Ltd (TTL) chairman Janelle “Penny” Commissiong that the board was granted a two-year extension of its term.
In the media release yesterday, Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell said that he had “taken note” of Commissiong’s claim that at an Annual General Meeting in February, representatives of the Ministry of Finance mandated an extension of the TTL board’s tenure by another two years.
“It is noteworthy that Cabinet, at its meeting of (sic) August 17, 2017 accepted the recommendation of the Minister of Finance that the Board of Directors of Tourism Trinidad Limited be appointed for a period of two years i.e until August 2019,” Mitchell said in the media release.
“Accordingly, the Minister of Finance (Corporation Sole) is investigating the matter to determine the origin and authorisation of any other development which purports to have occurred outside of the necessary Cabinet oversight.”
On July 3, Guardian Media first reported that Commissiong had fired the TTL chief executive officer Camille Campbell after only six months on the job. The sudden dismissal created some confusion at the State-company and according to confidential letters obtained by Guardian Media, the crux of the conflict was between Commissiong, Mitchell and some board members who claimed they were blind-sided by Commissiong on the CEO’s firing.
Correspondence revealed that Mitchell directed Commissiong against taking any action against staff, which went unheeded.
This development came even as the Caribbean Tourism Organisation recorded a fall in tourist arrivals to this country and stakeholders reporting economic distress. Tourism Trinidad Ltd was one of two companies formed after the closure of the Tourism Development Company in 2017. A separate company, the Tobago Tourism Agency, was formed to manage the affairs on that island.
On Friday, Commissiong appeared on a morning talk show to defend herself and her decision to fire Campbell. She said then that the board’s tenure had been extended. She also said the decision to fire Campbell came from the TTL board and that the Human Resource committee of the board brought the decision to them. Commissiong said out of the seven directors, five voted to dismiss Campbell. She also cited the State Performance Manual and said the running of the company is the responsibility of the board and not the Minister of Tourism or his ministry.
Commissiong noted, however, that Mitchell had asked for a report on the TTL recruitment drive and instructed that they were not to offer any jobs to anyone. She did confirm that when Mitchell saw the job ads in the media he told them not to terminate any member of staff.
It had been reported that Campbell has since issued a pre-action protocol letter to Commissiong.
Guardian Media reached out to Commissiong for a response to Mitchell’s letter but although she read the WhatsApp messages there was no response.
Guardian Media then attempted to call Commissiong but her phone was switched off. —Renuka Singh