ONE month after the firing of the board of the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago and the retirement of its general manager, Louis Fredericks, there is now word that there are to be more changes instigated by Transport Minister Devant Maharaj.
AATT sources tell TnT Mirror that Maharaj has instructed acting General Manager Dayanand Birjoo that the contracts of all officers of the authority be reviewed and that the first two persons on the list for review are Corporate Secretary Shannon Rudd and Protocol Manager Joan Brammer, who handles the operations of the AATT’s VIP room.
The latest reports follow ongoing upheaval at the AATT, which has seen dramatic changes in staff following the appointment of Maharaj as Transport Minister, when that aspect of the portfolio was excised from Jack Warner’s Works and Transport Ministry. The Warner-appointed board was fired over disagreements involving the role of the Minister and a new board was sworn in last month. Since then there have been a number of managerial changes.
The Transport Minister has, however, consistently denied any involvement in the hiring or appointment of persons at the authority.
Following recent staff changes at the ATT, Maharaj told TnT Mirror three weeks ago:
“All appointments to all positions are handled by the chairman of the board. I have no authority to appoint or hire anyone, so I think you should address your concerns to the chairman,” he said.
Newly appointed chairman Gerry Hadeed, when contacted then, also denied ministerial interference, saying, “The Minister never instructed me to hire or fire anyone.”
Maharaj had also expressed concern on the AATT’s policy regarding the use of the Diplomatic/VIPLounge. The Transport Minister claimed that he had in the past seen persons not authorised to use the Diplomatic Lounge “passing through carte blanche.”
He said that he had seen “PNM persons who had demitted office still using the facility, as well as enjoying VIP parking,” adding that this has prompted him to call for an investigation by the Airport Authority’s board into the matter.
“I have also asked the board to establish a policy on who should be allowed to use the Diplomatic Lounge, so that its use will not be left to the discretion of anyone,” he said.
