(Trinidad Express) One day after he was appointed to the Caribbean Airlines (CAL) board on Friday, the appointment of Courtney McNish has been revoked by Finance Minister Larry Howai.
The Express reported on Saturday that McNish was previously employed at CAL as vice president of Human Resources in 2008, but was fired from the company in 2009. In a statement yesterday, Howai said he had withdrawn McNish from the interim CAL board chaired by former senator Philip Marshall.
“Immediately as information about Mr McNish’s previous tenure at CAL came to light, I acted to withdraw his name on Friday afternoon as I have every intention of ensuring that the board has the full confidence and faith of all stakeholders and is focused on achieving its very clear mandate,” said Howai.
On Friday, Howai accepted full responsibility for the massive million-dollar losses racked up the national airline.
The Express was told that Howai did not seek Cabinet’s approval to change the board but did so himself.
McNish was one of five members appointed to the CAL board to replace the dismissed board chaired by Rabindra Moonan last Friday.
The Express was informed that McNish’s employment with the airline came to an end following a janitorial contract awarded by CAL to a company in which he was a major shareholder.
Contacted for comment on Saturday, McNish who is also president of the National Basketball Federation of Trinidad and Tobago, argued that he was never appointed to the CAL board as he never received any instrument of appointment.
But he confirmed that he was present at the meeting in which the Minister asked him and the other members—Marshall, Vishnu Dhan-paul, Indira Ramkissoon, Patricia Kong-Ting and Jamaican businessman Denis Lalor—to be part of the interim board.
