Penny defends TTL board's decision: I did not act out of place

Chairman of Trinidad Tourism Ltd (TTL) Janelle Penny Commissiong-Chow has responded to suggestions that she acted out of place with the termination of former CEO Camille Campbell, saying the board acted well within its right.

Speaking during a TV6 News interview Friday night, Commissiong-Chow said the decision was not her own, instead it came from a near unanimous motion from the company’s board members who voted five against two in favour of Campbell’s dismissal.

She insisted proper procedure was followed and said the decision was the responsibility of the TTL and not the Ministry of Tourism as suggested.

“It has come across as a bacchanal situation when it’s not. In all organisations you have staff appraisals, whichever staff meets the appraisals passes and that’s the situation. We operate as a board, we have sub-committees, board members are part of sub-committees. We have an HR (human resources) sub-committee and they bring their recommendations to the board.

“When it was brought, there were seven members present, I voted to not continue and, for their own personal reasons, two board members were looking for other options. This is the board’s responsibility, it isn’t the minister’s responsibility, the running of the company is the jurisdiction of the board.”

She said, contrary to earlier reports, she was not given a directive by Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell but was requested a report on recruitment as the company was engaged in a recruitment exercise even though that report restricted her from hiring anyone else.

Commissiong-Chow also said throughout the process an industrial relations attorney guided the decisions of the board to ensure the circumstances surrounding the dismissal was legal and that proper protocol was followed.

Responding to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s comments on the matter, she said it was good to see it had attracted his interest but said it was merely a matter of the board doing what was necessary to ensure efficiency was maintained.

“I think it’s good we saw that interest from him but his remarks really have not changed anything. Business has to go on and the staff are doing their jobs to move tourism forward. Its just doing what must be done in the course of doing normal business.”

Commissiong-Chow said since the announcement of the extension of her term as chairman at a general stakeholder’s meeting in February she was working to promote and develop TT as a tourist destination, which included social media marketing and the introduction of a new logo in the coming week, saying TT had more to offer than any other Caribbean destination.