PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, Monday July 28, 2014, CMC – A petition calling for the dismissal of embattled Sports Minister Anil Roberts in the wake of a damning audit of the controversial multi-million dollar Lifesport programme has apparede on social networks.
The petition on the website change.org is calling on Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar to “immediately revoke the ministerial portfolio of Anil Roberts” and follows calls even from Robert’s Congress of the People (COP) party for him to step down.
Last weekend, Prime Minister Persad Bissessar told Parliament that she had asked her Attorney General Anand Ramlogan to hand over copies of the audit to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Commissioner of Police “to investigate, detain and prosecute those guilty to the fullest extent of the law”.
Persad Bissessar said that the audit had revealed a number of discrepancies including procurement breaches; the involvement of some persons in criminal activities; fraud by suppliers; theft of equipment; breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act and a deviation from the mandates of Cabinet.
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Prime Minister Persad Bissessar, who announced the immediate end to the programme, said that in May, a newspaper publication brought to light allegations of wrong-doing and misuse of resources in the LifeSport programme.
“Based on the very real possibility of there being irregularities I immediately instructed that the programme be transferred to the Ministry of National Security, and that the Ministry of Finance and the Economy, through its Central Audit Committee, conduct a full audit.”
The petition, which has so far been signed by more than 400 people, noted that the audit “has unearthed massive corruption, millions of (dollars of) taxpayers’ money lost and laws of Trinidad and Tobago breached.
The petition also noted that the approval given by Cabinet was not strictly adhered to and there may have been breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act.
“The citizens of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago hereby demand that the Hon. Prime Minister immediately advise His Excellency the President Anthony Carmona to revoke the ministerial portfolio of Anil Roberts,” the petition stated.
Legal Affairs Minister Prakash Ramadhar, who is also the COP leader, said the issues highlighted in the audit are a “very grave cause for concern regarding serious breaches of the law….”
“The contents of this report have been referred to several institutions for further investigation to determine whether criminal acts or other breaches of the Integrity in Public Life act and or acts of serious misconduct meriting criminal or disciplinary charges being laid, have been committed,” Ramadhar said in a statement.
He said in light of the findings and further investigations, the COP, which is the second biggest partner in the four-party coalition government here, is calling on Roberts “to recuse himself from his ministerial responsibilities until these investigations are concluded and decisions taken in respect of their findings”.
The main opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) has also called on Roberts to resign.
But Roberts has maintained his innocence, saying that the report has not linked him to any corrupt activities and therefore he had no reason to resign.
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Online petition calling for dismissal of Trinidad sports minister goes viral
