Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe yesterday confirmed that communications professional Dennise Demming has been fired as chairman of the Tourism Development Company (TDC) and that attorney Richard Duncan, who already serves as a director on the board, was promoted.
This comes on the heels of one other director, Dennis Sammy’s appointment being revoked around March, and another, Sherry Katwaroo-Ragbir, tendering her resignation days after she was appointed last November.
“She has been removed and replaced,” Cudjoe told the T&T Guardian yesterday. She was speaking to reporters at the opening of the Tourism Health and Safety Symposium at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine.
Six months ago, the new board of directors for TDC was installed with Demming at the helm. She had previously served as the campaign manager for Cudjoe in Tobago West in the run-up to the September 7 general election.
The T&T Guardian learned Demming’s relationship with her directors was frosty and in frustration they reportedly penned letters of complaints questioning her leadership of the organisation.
Cudjoe, when pressed on the matter, said: “I don’t think it affects the operations of the board. We have a new chairman who is already a member of the board, Mr Richard Duncan, so the board is moving ahead with its business.
“We do admit there had been some interruptions and some challenges but the board and the company is moving full speed ahead with its business.”
Demming yesterday admitted she was terminated, effective May 4, and the reason was that the Government decided “to reconstitute the board.” She received an official letter yesterday.
However, Demming said the bigger picture was getting State boards to function in the proper way.
“How do we ensure that they are selected in a way that good citizens are able to operate? How do we ensure the future of our country is protected and those are things we ought to be focusing on?” she asked. Her relationship with Cudjoe, she said, was good as with everybody else because she never burned her bridges.
Despite her termination, she said her issue was about governance and not herself.
“I would like us to focus on governance, accountability and transparency,” she said.
Meanwhile, Sammy, managing director of Nature Seekers, said it was a Cabinet decision and he was officially informed via a letter from the Ministry of Finance.
“I am not sure what happened but I received the letter and I abided. The decision was taken in March and the letter came after.”
Asked what the letter stated, Sammy said he was thanked for his services and that his appointment was revoked.
“That’s it,” he added.
Sammy said he had a “fantastic” conversation with the minister about the issue and that there was nothing he could “pinpoint” now that would have contributed to the revocation. His last meeting was in March. He said, however, everything has remained “very sketchy.”
He added: “My appointment being revoked is completely separate from what is happening now. I don’t know that anything is related at all.”