For the second consecutive day, new permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Ashwin Creed, did not report to work. Head of the Public Service Reynold Cooper confirmed that Creed was absent from the job yesterday. He also did not report for duty on Monday. Creed’s lawyer, former legal affairs minister Peter Taylor, could not say if Creed reported for work when questioned by the T&T Guardian yesterday. Taylor said, however that Creed was not under any criminal probe and questioned what was the issue regarding his return to work.
Cooper said on Monday that Creed had been on vacation and was expected to return to work at the Office of the Prime Minister. But Taylor said yesterday Creed “was on preretirement leave.” He said Public Service regulations provided for anybody on retirement leave to write the Head of the Public Service and seek approval to return. “He wrote to the Head of the Public Service (Reynold Cooper) indicating that he was now prepared to resume his duties and that approval was granted and Creed is back out to work,” Taylor added. He insisted he did not understand why there was so much controversy over the matter. “I don’t know what the unholy fuss is about,” he added.
In response to further questions, Taylor said it would have been Cooper who “as a matter of procedure” would have informed Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar about Creed’s request. Under the Constitution, the Prime Minister has the authority to transfer a permanent secretary and that was what happened. Taylor said the issue was “much ado about nothing.” He also dismissed claims that Creed was under investigation for the disbanded LifeSport programme. “This is another source of mischief that is being pedalled by people who should know better,” Taylor said. An investigation was launched into a report on the programme done by the central audit of the Finance and the Economy Ministry. Creed was PS in the Sport Ministry during the programme. But Taylor said that had nothing to with Creed but with procedure. “It is a procedural investigation which has to do with systems and the strengthening of procedures. There was never any insinuation that there was any criminal charge against Creed,” he said. Taylor said even that inquiry was “being tested because it was a matter before the court.”