Diego Martin Central MP Darryl Smith says it is sad that people see sinister motives behind every action. He made the comment yesterday as he sought to further clarify the issues in the wake of the current furore over the existence or non-existence of the “Darryl Smith Foundation.”
In a telephone interview with the Sunday Guardian, Smith said the foundation does not exist and never existed, though the idea for a foundation had been shared among his team.
“We were advised against it,” Smith said.
Although he did not specify where the advice came from, he said he was advised that whatever help he wanted to give constituents should be done as an MP.
Earlier this week, CNC3 reporter Kristy Ramnarine produced a story questioning whether Smith’s foundation was legally formed. On Friday, during an interview on another station, Smith said the foundation never existed.
“We never opened a bank account for it and never received a cent toward it,” he said.
Smith reiterated yesterday that the foundation was never registered, never had an account or a board nor did it receive funds from any individual or entity.
He said the idea for a foundation came about due to his frustration as an MP over the inability to help all of his constituents.
“As an MP, our biggest stress may be in trying to get supply to meet the demands of our constituents. That gap, where we can’t help all of the people, is frustrating,” he said.
“After our first year we looked at the complaints in the constituency and we decided we wanted to do a project to help. There were young people who did the graphics and we launched the idea of helping people, but even then we never asked for money, we just wanted people to donate time or equipment or items to help in the community. We collected cement and sand.”
Last December, it was reported that the Darryl Smith Foundation had reached out to the Pantin family, who reside at Teixeria Street, Diego Martin, to facilitate a home renovation, with the assistance of local businesses, family and friends.