Cabinet yesterday agreed to the appointment of Col George Robinson as the new director of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA).
Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie made the announcement during yesterday’s post-Cabinet news briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.
He said the SSA, one of the country’s major intelligence agencies, would have an expanded mandate under Robinson, which will include “broader law enforcement co-ordination and intelligence functions.”
He insisted the organisation was being restructured to include “intelligence-gathering and the National Security Training Academy.”
Cuffie said the SSA would be restructured “by integrating the functions of the National Operations Centre (NOC) and the National Security Training Academy.”
In response to questions, Cuffie said Robinson’s appointment was made after a recommendation from Minister of National Security Brigadier Edmund Dillon and the National Security Council, which is chaired by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. Saying Robinson had an impressive track record, he said the Cabinet was very thorough in making such appointments to ensure no unqualified person was appointed to do the job.
Robinson was the head of the Office of Disaster Preparednesss and Management (ODPM) under the PNM government. However, he quit office in August of 2010 after the ODPM was heavily criticised for how it handled flooding which had ravaged several parts of the country.
However, Robinson returned to his substantive post at Petrotrin, since he had been at the ODPM on secondment since 2008.
Cuffie also said there was no discussion on allegations against Housing Minister Marlene Mc Donald and Udecott chairman Anthony Garcia. Allegations of wrongdoing against the two were made by Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge in recent days. Both Mc Donald and Garcia have dismissed the respective allegations.
Cuffie said over the next five years he expected the Opposition to make allegations against the People’s National Movement Government.
“We cannot run the Government by simply spending time discussing allegations from the Opposition and we cannot be guided by Opposition allegations,” he said.
Cabinet also agreed to the appointment of a task force to support the implementation of the National Statistical Institute of T&T, which would eventually replace the Central Statistical Office, he said.
Cuffie added the task force would be chaired by Dr John Prince. Other members are permanent secretary in the Planning and Development Ministry Joanne Deoraj; the acting director of Statistics Sean O’Brien and senior legal counsel in the Ministry of Planning and Development Andrea Julien.
He said there would be a lot of consultations before the new and independent statistical office was established. The new institute, Cuffie said, “will be independent, not totally dependent on a Government ministry.”
He said legislation was also required to establish the institute. He could not give a timeframe for the establishment of the body but another source said it was hoped the institute would be established by the end of the year.