TTCB refunded $25k overpayment to NGC

The TT Cricket Board (TTCB) has revealed a $25,000 overpayment by former sponsors National Gas Company (NGC) was refunded to them.

In a press release yesterday, TTCB president Azim Bassarath addressed the furore surrounding an NGC audit which revealed 24 per cent of its sponsorship from 2014-2016 was not spent in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding.

Bassarath said, “At a NGC/TTCB meeting, we requested a copy of the audit and were told that the report was an internal document and could not be made available to us. However, we were verbally advised of only pertinent items contained therein, that impacted on the TTCB.”

Among those pertinent items was the “overpayment of $25,000 made in error by NGC in one of the tranches during 2014.” Bassarath said this overpayment was subsequently refunded to NGC by TTCB.

The reallocation of underutilized funds for the period 2014 to 2016 was also brought up by NGC. Bassarath said, “The TTCB informed NGC that these funds were reallocated to other line items under the ambit of the agreement. A report on the reallocated sums for the three years audited was done by an external accounting firm and submitted to NGC with evidence of same.”

The last pertinent item was that further tightening of internal controls was required by the TTCB.

Bassarath acknowledged, “This is on-going, as with most other national sporting organisations, we continue to strive to improve with limited available resources.”

The TTCB boss added, “In keeping with our role as a responsible partner, the TTCB has acted on the three points raised by the NGC, subsequent to our meeting. We wish to reiterate that we have since settled the overpayment issue and have also submitted to NGC, financial information to account for the sums re-allocated.

“In closing, may we remind the citizens of TT that the TTCB is a highly accountable organisation with a proud reputation for honesty and integrity. We value these standards and have always done our utmost to uphold same.”