THERE are two ways in which TT Super League president Keith Look Loy or other Football Association (TTFA) board members may access information to the controversial TTFA “home of football” project in Couva, which is currently under construction.
Look Loy will either have to sign a non-disclosure agreement put out by TTFA president David John-Williams’ attorney – something he refuses to do – or he will have no choice but to take legal action to force John-Williams to release details to the board.
Look Loy said since he has no intention of signing the document, he is left with little choice but to pursue the matter through the courts, although it will inevitably add to the mounting debt the association faces through various lawsuits and arrears.
According to information obtained by Newsday, John-Williams’ attorney Annand Misir recently sent Look Loy and his attorney a non-disclosure agreement, which, if he signed, would effectively prevent them from disclosing the financial and contractual details on the FIFA-funded project to the board or make it public.
Last Wednesday, Look Loy wrote to the TTFA board by e-mail advising them of his continued inability to access information on the project, as well as John-Williams’ attempts to keep the matter private by means of the non-disclosure agreement, which he scanned and copied to the e-mail.
In the e-mail, Look Loy sought to remind the board members of the numerous attempts made, since December 26, 2017
, to acquire information on the project from both John-Williams and TTFA general secretary Justin Latapy-George.
Look Loy said after several unsuccessful attempts, he hired attorney Matthew Gayle, who wrote to John-Williams in July, telling him of a final request for information before the commencement of legal proceedings.
“This failed to convince the TTFA president that said documents should be made available,” Look Loy told the board.
On August 27, Gayle, on behalf of Look Loy, filed an application for leave to claim for judicial review in the High Court, which Look Loy said was done in the “interest of transparency and accountability within the association, and to ensure the right of TTFA board members – the governors of the association – to information, is respected.
“Following on this, and in the effort to ensure TTFA does not have yet another legal matter on which to spend legal fees, as well as to reduce conflict within the association, I made, through Mr Gayle, more than one unsuccessful attempt to secure access to the requested information without final intervention of the High Court.
“Finally, the legal representative of TTFA, Annand Misir, wrote to my legal representative offering to make documents available today (October 3) at 10 am.”
Look Loy said that on Tuesday, the day before, Misir wrote to Gayle in an attempt to impose a non-disclosure agreement “that seeks to limit and qualify my right – as a TTFA board member – to access and to report on said documentation to my constituency (TTSL membership) and to the TTFA general membership.”
Look Loy continued: “The TTFA board has never discussed and/or approved any contract for project works by any company and/or service provider in Couva. Indeed, in TT Super League all commercial agreements are discussed and agreed by the entire membership – not just the board – in the effort to ensure transparency and to eliminate the possibility of corruption, e.g. the League’s recent signing of a broadcast contract with TTEN TV.”
He added that the TTFA board never discussed or agreed any legal course of action in response to his High Court application. “The TTFA president and/or Mr Misir does not have sole authority to decide on same and should be required to table this matter before the board membership.”
The president’s refusal to present the requested documents.
Look Loy said, “contradicts his assurance to the 2017 TTFA Annual General Meeting that said documents are available in the TTFA office.”
The TTFA board, he said, “has never discussed and/or agreed the imposition of a non-disclosure agreement on board members regarding access to any TTFA documents. The president, and/or Mr Misir, does not have authority to impose same, which in any event would be unconstitutional and an illegal limitation of member representative rights and responsibility to report to their membership. I stand by my commitment to transparency and accountability in TTFA.
I refuse to sign any non-disclosure agreement,” Look Loy wrote.
He concluded by signalling his intention to go ahead with legal action in the High Court, “unless the TTFA board ensures the TTFA president makes all the requested documents available to me – and by definition, to all TTFA board members.”
SOURCE: T&T Newsday