Last month’s Cabinet reshuffle may have been a close call for Sport Minister Anil Roberts, as a reliable source said yesterday that the Government had approached former West Indies and T&T cricket captain Brian Lara to be his replacement. The T&T Guardian was told that recently-appointed National Security Minister Gary Griffith had approached Lara on September 4, the day before the reshuffle, to find out if he was interested in the position. However, the double world-record holder turned down the offer because the notice was so short. Calls to Roberts’ mobile phone went to voicemail yesterday, but Cabinet colleagues who chose to speak on condition of anonymity described the claim as a rumour. “That is just old talk,†one government official said yesterday when asked about Roberts’ near-dismissal. “You really feel Brian Lara will come into that with all those endorsements he has overseas?â€
The Cabinet source said another former T&T cricket captain, Daren Ganga, had also been rumoured as a replacement for Roberts, but maintained it was just old talk. Both Lara and Ganga were part of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s delegation to India last year as T&T sport ambassadors. A government minister yesterday admitted that he had heard that Roberts might be replaced, but did not know for what reason. “To be honest with you, I heard something, but I can’t confirm that...Maybe that was just a rumour floating around the place, but I really can’t say yes or no to it,†the minister said. “Honestly, I really don’t know, but politics has a way of doing these things to you. I am in politics long enough to know these things.†When asked for confirmation yesterday, Housing and Urban Development Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal said in a text message that talk of Government’s scouting of Lara was untrue. In announcing her third Cabinet reshuffle in three years on September 5, Persad-Bissessar described the changes as a move towards a reinvigorated government, adding she wanted to fast-track delivery and development.
guardian.co.tt
