‘Dinas’ bowled out as SporTT Chairman

UPDATE:

FORMER West Indies cricketer Dinanath Ramnarine has been removed as chairman of the Sport Company of TT. Ramnarine, who was appointed in May last year, will be replaced by TT Hockey Board president Douglas Camacho. Sports Minister Shamfa Cudjoe revealed the decision was taken by Cabinet yesterday afternoon.

Ramnarine has been at loggerheads with TT Cricket Board (TTCB) president Azim Bassarath over his leadership of the local governing body and challenged him in the past for the top job.

Ramnarine and other National League representatives have taken the current regime to court over the TTCB constitution, which they deem unfair as it allows executive members 12 outgoing votes for elections. The legal wrangling has seen TTCB elections postponed indefinitely since October 2016.

The TTCB has called on Ramnarine to step down, as it believes there was a conflict of interest in him holding the SporTT post and making decisions affecting the TTCB.

The Sport Company had said previously Ramnarine had recused himself from all board meetings concerning the TTCB.

Ramnarine, the ex-president of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), has been at the helm of SporTT amid a restructuring of the embattled Company to improve its efficiency going forward. As a result, several employees have been told they are no longer needed. In the first major shake up at SporTT under Ramnarine, its former CEO Adam Montserin and four others were fired following the completion of a forensic audit conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The five were among eight SporTT employees who were previously sent on administrative leave. Efforts to contact Ramnarine via his cellphone yesterday proved futile as calls went unanswered.

Asked why Ramnarine was replaced yesterday, the new Sports Minister declined to elaborate.

“I cannot discuss Cabinet deliberations,” she said.

One of Ramnarine’s vocal criticics, TTCB Executive Member Manohar Ramsaran, said yesterday he took no joy from the news but he was not unhappy.

“I take no pleasure in people losing their job but I wanted to make sure when you are elected or nominated to do a job, that you do it fairly. I was calling for fair treatment for the cricket board,” he said,

Ramsaran, a former Sports Minister, said he never felt reassured even after Ramnarine said he recused himself in matters concerning them.

“He treated the cricket board with a kind of discourtesy and I felt we were treated badly. Maybe he was courting his demise,” Ramsaran said.

ORIGINAL STORY:

FORMER West Indies cricketer Dinanath Ramnarine has been removed as Chairman of the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago. Ramnarine, who was appointed to the position in May last year, will be replaced by Douglas Camacho. Sports Minister Shamfa Cudjoe revealed the decision was taken by the Cabinet this afternoon.

Ramnarine has been at loggerheads with TT Cricket Board (TTCB) president Azim Bassarath over his leadership of the local governing body and challenged him for the top job. Ramnarine and other National League Representatives have taken the current regime to court over the TTCB constitution which they deem unfair as it allows Executive Members 12 outgoing votes for elections. The legal wrangling has seen TTCB elections postponed indefinitely since October 2016.

The TTCB has called on Ramnarine to step down from the position as they believe there is a conflict of interest in him holding the post and making decisions affecting the TTCB. The Sport Company has stated previously Ramnarine had recused himself from all Board meetings pertaining to the TTCB.