Yisrael: Jomo “none” answer is “utter callousness”

Minority Councillor in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Dr Faith B Yisrael on Tuesday described as “utter callousness,” Sports Secretary Jomo Pitt’s response to a question on repairs at the Dwight Yorke Stadium posed by Minority Leader Watson Duke at last Thursday’s Tobago House of Assembly’s plenary.

During the questions for oral answer session at the sitting at the Chamber in Scarborough, Duke posed a question to Pitt on repairs to the Stadium, which he noted needed infrastructural refurbishment, and which meant that athletes had no access to the gym and no sporting activities could take place after sunset because of the unavailability of lights on the field.

Duke, noting a BOLT arrangement associated with Stadium, said under the Fifth Schedule of the THA Act, the Assembly has responsibility for sport in Tobago.

“What are the short-term plans to deal with the required infrastructure refurbishment of the facilities which includes the steel structure, the gym and the lighting for the field?” he asked.

To which Pitt replied an abrupt: “My response to the question posed; none.”

Speaking at a press conference at James Park on Tuesday, Yisrael said:

“To us this was such utter callousness... it sounded like he simply did not care about the sportsmen and sportswomen in Tobago. This is the only stadium that we have... there are a host of activities that will not be able to happen. This is simply unfair and for the Secretary to say “none”, that the THA has no plans... we were in shock,” she said.