(Trinidad Express) The Government has paid sacked director of the Special Anti Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (SAUTT) Brig Peter Joseph TT$1 million for his wrongful dismissal, sources told the Express yesterday.
The matter was raised by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley at his bi-monthly press conference at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Charles Street, Port of Spain, who stated the Prime Minister’s unfounded claims of spying laid against Joseph had cost taxpayers “over TT$1 million”.
Sources told the Express that Joseph, who had sued the State in January last year, has already received his cheque from the State. Joseph who is out of the country could not be reached for comment.
Rowley said yesterday: “It was the Prime Minister herself who in a fit of pique and righteous indignation told the country that SAUTT was spying on her and in retaliation she summarily dismissed Brigadier Peter Joseph as head of the Special Anti Crime Unit.
“Subsequent to that Brigadier Joseph who was embarrassed because he is a highly professional officer, who came to SAUTT with a distinguished career from the Defence Force, and having a Prime Minister so portray him was very hurtful to him, his family and all those who knew him. He has taken issue with the Prime Minister’s position, the Prime Minister has been unable to defend her position.
“She could provide no evidence that this was going on. And in the end the Government had to pay well over a million dollars to Brigadier Joseph for wrongful dismissal where his entire contract had to be paid for.
“And the Government is attempting to swear him to secrecy—that he mustn’t tell the country what happened. But since it is public money, we would file a question and ask the Government which is not sworn to secrecy, what was the final payment it made to Brigadier Joseph for his wrongful dismissal so that people in Trinidad and Tobago could see the effect of the reckless action of the Prime Minister of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Joseph, a highly distinguished and decorated officer, was sacked publicly when Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bisssessar announced his termination on September 20, 2010, moments before she departed Piarco Airport to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Prime Minister stated then that Joseph was fired in order to facilitate SAUTT’s restructuring and reorganisation.
But the action came amidst reports the Government had believed that SAUTT had spied on the Prime Minister and others while she was in Opposition, a charge which Joseph felt constrained to deny.
In fact, Joseph had stated he had written to Persad-Bissessar “to personally assure her and the people of Trinidad and Tobago that SAUTT never ‘spied’ on her or on any Member of Parliament”.
“We gather criminal intelligence to support our work, but our resources are solely used to target criminals. We do not, and have never, used our resources to ‘spy’ on any Member of Parliament or any other law abiding citizen,” Joseph stated on September 21, 2010 in a press release.
But on the same day Cabinet took the decision to dismiss him.
One month later—in October 2010—the Prime Minister disclosed in the Parliament that it was the Security Intelligence Agency, a spy unit under the Strategic Services Agency, which had been illegally spying on citizens.
The head of that Agency, Nigel Clement, was then sacked and replaced by junior technician Reshmi Ramnarine, who subsequently resigned after it was revealed she did not have the requisite experience or qualifications.
Joseph took legal action, issuing a pre-action protocol letter in which he was seeking close to $2 million in compensation for his wrongful dismissal. The matter never went to court as the Attorney General chose to settle out of court, sources said.
The Opposition Leader said Government has been on a programme of purging in the public sector, “victimising and terrorising” persons who were employed under the People’s National Movement (PNM), labelling them as “PNM operatives”.
Referring to agencies such as SAUTT, SIA and Strategic Services Agency (SSA), Rowley said the people who worked in those agencies were not picked up off the streets.
“They are not telephone operators who you appoint by pole-vaulting them to senior positions. They were very carefully selected, they are highly competent professional officers and to have them so presented by the Government is just plain wrong,” he said.