United National Congress deputy leader Roodal Moonilal has called on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to fully explain the summary removal of Strategic Services Agency (SSA) director Roger Best.
“In the face of growing fears of a police state, T&T must be given a plausible explanation for the dramatic removal of Major Roger Best as SSA director. The Prime Minister must reveal when the Cabinet met to decide on the removal of Mr Best ‘with dispatch’,” Moonilal said yesterday.
United National Congress deputy leader Roodal Moonilal has called on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to fully explain the summary removal of Strategic Services Agency (SSA) director Roger Best.
“In the face of growing fears of a police state, T&T must be given a plausible explanation for the dramatic removal of Major Roger Best as SSA director. The Prime Minister must reveal when the Cabinet met to decide on the removal of Mr Best ‘with dispatch’,” Moonilal said yesterday.
“Dr Rowley must also urgently state exactly why Mr Best was summarily replaced and SSA’s compounds were invaded and spy equipment and other sensitive and expensive equipment placed under police control.”
Moonilal, who noted the SSA is an independent agency and not under the purview of the police service, added, “The Prime Minister must state whether the police obtained a search warrant before pouncing on the SSA’s premises.”
Moonilal asked if the “alarming decision” was designed to manipulate the critical intelligence agency.
He claimed, “The disturbing events are taking place in a general election season and in light of the Government’s known penchant for targeting political opponents.
“The swift and unexplained removal of Mr Best is yet another frightening example of the PNM’s undermining of autonomous nationally sensitive statutory institutions.”
He added, “The announcement of a planned audit is also a well-known PNM Government tactic aimed at assailing the character of public officials targeted by Rowley and National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds.”
UNC senator Lutchmedial, a member of the Parliament’s JSC on National Security, said, “I believe the Minister of National Security should be summoned to the JSC on national security to answer questions.”
She said serious questions arise from the “dramatic removal of someone vested with power to intercept private communications and his replacement with someone handpicked by the NSC and/or Cabinet”.
Lutchmedial added, “What process was followed to remove Mr Best? What evidence was collected against him and what impact does his actions have on the wider intelligence community. There are three people who can intercept private communications: the Chief of Defence Staff is one, the Commissioner of Police, who was granted an extension of her term beyond retirement age by the Cabinet and will be up for another extension soon.
“And the third—the SSA’s head—is now someone who is handpicked overnight by the NSC/PM/Cabinet … we’re not sure who made the decision. This is worrying.”
National Transformation Alliance (NTA) leader and former police commissioner Gary Griffith meanwhile said the Government has full authority to remove an SSA director and therein lies the problem, since the SSA director is a political appointment. He said so too “directly or indirectly” is the CoP and Chief of Defence Staff.
Still, he noted that even if Government has full rights to change an SSA director if they wish, it still needs to explain how the TTPS took “control” of the SSA. He said the SSA is an independent body and no police service has rights to invade any independent institution unless they have a warrant.
Griffith alleged he’d been told there “was no warrant”.
No replacement US Ambassador in works
Meanwhile, Government officials said yesterday that it was “premature” to say who would replace retired brigadier general Anthony Phillips-Spencer as T&T’s Ambassador to the US, after Phillips-Spencer was appointed acting head of the Strategic Service Agency (SSA).
And the Opposition has called for the Prime Minister to properly explain the SSA director’s removal—and for the Parliament’s Joint Select Committee to summon National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds to answer questions on the issue.
This, following last weekend’s revelation from the Office of the Prime Minister that the National Security Council recommended to the Cabinet that SSA head Roger Best be replaced immediately and that new leadership and management be installed “with dispatch”.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley heads the NSC.
The OPM stated that as of last Saturday, Best was sent on administrative leave.
It was announced that Phillips-Spencer, “on the Prime Minister’s instruction”, returned from Washington and on an instrument from the President, was appointed acting SSA head.
Phillips-Spencer is currently engaged in initiating an extensive review and audit of all personnel, equipment, and processes within SSA.
Sources explained that it was premature to say who would replace Phillips-Spencer as Ambassador to the US, since it was not an “overnight process”. Citing the protocols involved, they noted after a suitable person is finalised, Government will then have to seek and obtain agreement from the receiving country and that involved some time. For example, they noted that after (now deceased) US Ambassador Joseph Mondello left that post in January 2021, successor US Ambassador Candice Bond was appointed in March 2022.