Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Darryl Smith says he will await the conclusion of the police investigation in the controversial LifeSport programme. “I am going to leave that for the police to do. We are not on a witch hunt,” Smith said minutes after being sworn in on Friday with the rest of the Cabinet at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s.
Asked if the T&T Police Service were taking too long with its investigation into the programme, Smith said that was not his call. “They (police) have been doing its (investigations) and the AG and his team will deal with that. That is not my job. I want to focus on the young athletes in the country.”
Smith, who obtained a football scholarship to North America as a youth, said he would not ask the police to accelerate its investigations, but would await their findings and outcome. A few week ago, Deputy Commissioner of Police Glen Hackett told the media the investigation into the now-defunct programme would be long and protracted.
Last year, former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had ordered an audit into LifeSport after it was revealed that the programme, which was under the purview of then minister Anil Roberts, was riddled with financial irregularities and was funding criminals.
In August 2011, the then People’s Partnership Cabinet had agreed to implementation of the LifeSport programme by the Ministry of Sport, through the Sport Company of T&T. It was launched in June 2012 and started in August 2012. Up to the time of the audit, the programme was being run in 43 centres throughout T&T for young men 16-25.
However, the Finance Ministry’s central audit team concluded there was poor monitoring and control of the programme by the Sport Ministry, there may have been breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act—and police information suggested criminal elements may have supervised and co-ordinated Life Sport.