CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE SPORT PROGRAMME......... A Vivid Example Of How Corruption Destroys A Nation !!! The Life Sport Programme was launched at Queen’s Hall, St. Ann’s on June, 17, 2012 by the Ministry of Sport. It was an initiative geared at providing opportunities for “at-risk” youths through sport. Close to 120 youngsters from “at-risk communities”, a Ministry Release said were initially selected to benefit from the programme, which is supposed to be the brainchild of Sport Minister Anil Roberts. Participants were to engage in sport through training in boxing, athletics, basketball and football, while there were also to be sessions targeting coach education, facility/ grounds management, life and vocational skills training. The programme had a budget of $6,647,000. The Budget Statement in October 2012 for the fiscal year 2011 - 2012 entitled, ‘From Steady Foundation To Economic Transformation,’ was presented by then Finance Minister Winston Dookeran in Parliament. Mr. Dookeran stated regarding the Life Sport Programme, “We will continue to maintain and improve the sporting infrastructure in our nation. In addition, three state-ofthe-art mega sport facilities will be constructed in compliance with international standards – the national cycle track, the national aquatic centre and the national tennis centre. The Government has developed a two-year programme which will engage young people in full-time sport training programmes. This programme, called LIFESport, is intended to train persons in sport and social skills, as well as in life skills through occupational skill training. This programme will be piloted in ten different communities throughout Trinidad and Tobago.” In his Budget presentation for 2012 - 2013, Mr. Dookeran stated, “Mr. Speaker, we have conceptualized and commenced implementation of a new naval operations plan to combat the drug trade and we have developed a number of social interventions aimed at our most 20 vulnerable and underprivileged communities. These initiatiatives range from education,...activities of the popular Life Sport Programme....” As of June 2014, this Budget has increased phenomenally. For 2014, the Government had already allocated just over $267 million on the LifeSport programme. And in the proposed Supplementation of the Appropriation for Fiscal Year 2014, the Ministry of Sport had requested $32.8 million more to meet its expenses. Since the $32.8 million was approved by the Parliament in an allnight session debate last week, Life Sport — which targets criminal elements — would now cost taxpayers more than $300 million in 2014. It is reported that the government took loans to finance the now controversial LifeSport programme, which targeted criminal elements for rehabilitation. The Government did not fund the programme through its recurrent expenditure but took loans from the commercial banking sector since its cost had gone beyond what was originally budgeted. The loan for the LifeSport programme was taken by the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT). Under the heading “Transfers to State Enterprises”, $154,133,000 was transferred to the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT) for “Repayment of TT$77.2 million loan re: Pathway Programme”. That would take the total sum transferred to LifeSport in 2014 to $267 million exclusive of the proposed $32.8 million increase requested and approved. Ms Ruth Marchan, Deputy Director of Sport was one of those persons mandated to supervise the programme and said that “people have targeted the LifeSport to prove that we are recruiting criminals and using State funding, funding these criminals through the LifeSport to buy guns and ammunition,” she said. Marchan also commented on a “$34 million contract which was given to a well-known educator to provide Mathematics and English lessons to the programme and no work was done”. Loans for Criminals (Trinidad Express) Loans for Criminals The government took loans to finance the now controversial LifeSport programme, which in turn targeted criminal elements for rehabilitation. View on trinidadexpress. com Ruth Marchan, LifeSport’s deputy director of Physical Education and Sport at the Ministry told the Sunday Express that LifeSport was designed to target criminals. She said when the programme was first launched, its initial target was 10 centres but several members of Parliament in Cabinet asked for the programme in their communities. The programme subsequently expanded to 33 centres (none in Chaguanas West). “This was a programme that targeted criminal elements. These same people, some have court. Who don’t have court, some might make a jail in between for robbery. So when they leave, after you leave, we don’t dismiss you from the programme, you come back. This programme is not structured like a fixed programme like a school to have 30 persons in a class and you have to come out every day. What we do is we weigh your attendance. A next thing we try and not do is cut anybody. Fifteen hundred dollars to survive on for the month is not enough in Trinidad. So some of these guys, most of them, some of them have children. So what we tend to do is average, right, we try to make an average or create a ratio that they must have 80 per cent attendance,” she explained. “There are no ghosts in the programme. That is totally false. What you would find is that some people make a jail for a two months so you’ll miss them and they might come back. A lot of them in court,” she told the Sunday Express in an interview at her home in Diego Martin. Marchan’s armed escort Curtis Gibson known as “Tallman”’who had been with her throughout was recently executed at his Carapo home. She said he was the son of an imam, who is a member of the Jamaat al Muslimeen. In a series of text messages Ms Marchan revealed a series of conspiracies taking place in the programme One text reads: “The Muslims killing the programme. Time ha passed for their usefulness, since after the march last year. Need a solution.” Another reads: “Sending doc for u later. Depending on you an your friends. More to come.” Then on Monday, June 23, 2014, Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley leveled accusations against the controversial Life Sport Programme. Describing the community sporting project as a “cancer,” Dr Rowley accused the government of creating a deliberate plan to “fund criminal conduct in the East-West Corridor with the general election in mind.” 3. Come clean on Life Sport The accusations levelled by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley against the controversial Life Sport programme started under the aegis of the Ministry of Sport add to the concerns about th project.&nbs View on guardian.co.tt Then on Friday, June26, 2014 MP Colm Imbert in a Motion on Private Business moved that “Be IT Resolved that this Honourable House censure the Minister of Sport for facilitating through th Life Sport programme the funding of criminals and criminal enterprise”. In another one of his mos highly researched contributions Imbert quoted from various sources to prove his point. He said that “only a blind ma would close his eyes and say all is well in the programme”. He spoke about the $34m that was paid for no work. He chastised the PP for having an audit being done while the Permanent Secretary was missing in action. In response Roberts praised the programme and defended it supported with the thumping of the desks by his colleagues including the Prime Minister. Just as Warner rose to rebut al that Roberts had said the Leader of Government Business, Dr Roodal Moonilal at 4:00pm moved that the House be adjourned. The Life Sport programme is nothing short of a good idea tha has gone bad, based on the dee seated corruption in it. And to all those MPs who were thumping their desks when Roberts was speaking we say today “Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing”. 2015 is not too far away. sunshinett/epaper/059/059th.html#11/z
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 01:37:40 +0000
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