PORT-OF-SPAIN – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar today confirmed that the appointment of Planning, Economic and Social Restructuring and Gender Affairs Minister Mary King has been revoked.
The Prime Minister made the announcement after holding talks with President George Maxwell Richards, a short while ago.
“I have advised his Excellency that I will be sending in a note this evening asking him to revoke her appointment. It is a sad day for us,” she told reporters.
The dismissal follows a story published in the Sunday Express newspaper that question have been raised as to whether King breached the law when she failed to disclose her pecuniary and family interest in a software engineering company, Ixanos Ltd, which won a Government website development contract from her ministry last November.
It said that the minister is the corporate secretary on record and a joint shareholder with her husband Dr St Clair King of Ixanos.
The paper said that investigations into the award of the near TT$100,000 (BDS$33 200) website development contract “found the minister failed to disclose her interest in the family-owned business, was present at the opening of the bids and was involved in the selection process of the four-member evaluation team which picked Ixanos”. (CMC)
