00:00 There's a heavy cloud hanging over the Port of Spain City Corporation following the suspension
00:05 of the corporation's CEO, Annette Stapleton Seaforth, last week.
00:09 The CEO's suspension was highlighted in the media over the weekend but Mayor Chinua Allen
00:13 said then that he could not comment on the matter surrounding the suspension.
00:18 Instead today at the corporation's statutory meeting, he took the time to introduce the
00:23 new acting CEO.
00:24 There has been a change in the administrative leadership of the Port of Spain Corporation
00:30 and Ms Victoria Alam has been appointed by the service commission to fill the role of
00:34 the chief executive officer.
00:36 I want to congratulate Ms Alam on her ascension to the office of chief executive officer and
00:42 I want to assure her and assure the members of the national community that the council
00:48 is committed to working very closely with her to continue the advancement of the capital
00:53 city.
00:54 The mayor would only say that he would let the statutory authority's service commission
00:58 do their job in referencing the suspension of the CEO and chose to say nothing further
01:02 about the matter.
01:03 We are with the outcome of whatever work they are doing and when a commission communicates
01:09 the outcome of their work, we will just let the chips fall where they may.
01:13 When approached by the media following the adjournment of the statutory meeting, the
01:17 mayor refused to say any more on the ongoing matter that has since prompted a police investigation.
01:23 Since the suspension of Stapleton Seaforth, another newspaper reported today that the
01:27 Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau had written to the suspended CEO on March 18th indicating
01:33 that as part of the investigation, seven people were to be interviewed.
01:37 The ACIB said they were investigating a breach of the procurement process at the Port of
01:42 Spain City Corporation.
01:44 TV6 News' Rui Laibe informed that the procurement issues under the microscope deal with the
01:48 purchase of parts for several of the corporation's trucks late last year.
01:54 Mark Besant, TV6 News.
01:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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