SSA gets new acting chief, starts overhaul

BRIG Gen Anthony Phillips-Spencer, former ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago in Washington, DC, has been appointed acting head of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA), following a recommendation by the National Security Council on March 2.

The Office of the Prime Minister announced the change in a statement on March 3, the day after the recommendation took effect. The current head of the SSA has been sent on administrative leave.

"The (NSC) has recommended to the Cabinet that the head of the SSA be replaced immediately and that new leadership and management be installed with dispatch," the statement read.

It added that Phillips-Spencer, on the instruction of the Prime Minister, returned from Washington, DC, to take up the role.

Phillips-Spencer, the statement said, is "currently engaged in initiating an extensive review of all personnel, equipment and processes within the SSA."

Newsday observed a police presence outside a dark SSA office at Knowsley, Queen's Park West, Port of Spain, on Sunday night.

Newsday spoke with a policeman who remained tight-lipped about the nature of the police activity at the building.