New CTU head expected on Monday

A DIRECTOR of the Counter Trafficking Unit (CTU) is expected to be announced today, provided the person selected accepts the post.

Permanent secretary at the Ministry of National Security Vel Lewis said the person, once accepted, will receive their instrument of appointment and will fill the void left following the contractual ending of the previous CTU head Alana Wheeler, two months ago.

Lewis who was not at office when contacted on the weekend said he could not say how many people were interviewed for the post and would not identify the successful candidate as the person was not yet informed.

Last week, Lewis in a WhatsApp response to a question about the vacant position and others at the ministry, said: "Those positions would be filled in the next few days. The Head CTU was on end of contract leave and so too were other senior personnel. In the absence of those persons though, other senior officers carried out the duties of those positions competently."

Former director Wheeler said the position had been vacant for the past two months. She said the position was advertised internally in February while her contract was still valid and advertised externally two months later.

She said the Ministry conducted interviews two weeks ago but there have been some delays in the process. She confirmed she was interviewed in the hope of regaining her position and added that since her contract ended, no one had been acting as head of the unit. Calls to her mobile remained unanswered on Saturday.

The discovery that the unit is currently without a director came after the Prime Minister slammed the US for TT’s Tier 2 grade in the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report against TT.

According to a US State Department report, TT remains a Tier 2 country as it did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas and had not yet secured any convictions under its 2011 anti-trafficking law.

A Tier 2 country is one whose government does not fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act minimum standards. The report, however, said TT was making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with those standards.