The board of the Airports Authority of T&T (AATT) remains in limbo awaiting a report from the board's committee. Last week, Cabinet was asked to fire the board chaired by Captain Vaman Bajnath but instead referred the matter to the committee. The request to dismiss the board came one week after Bajnath wrote to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar claiming political interference. In that letter to the Prime Minister, Bajnath detailed a list of "special requests" he allegedly was instructed to carry out on behalf of the line minister, Devant Maharaj.
In an interview with the Sunday Guardian, Maharaj admitted that he did, in fact, discuss some of the "special requests" with Bajnath. The award of contracts and the short-listing of people to be hired at the AATT are among some of the issues Bajnath reported to the Prime Minister. The letter followed a no-confidence motion against Bajnath on October 21. The fallout between Maharaj and Bajnath comes one month after chairman of the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago Clive Spencer was relieved. Spencer claimed he was given the boot because he failed to follow the Minister's directives.