Heads roll at WICB headquarters

Mon, Jul 28, '08

 

The fallout from what was deemed a malicious attempt to discredit WICB president Julian Hunte has begun and heads are beginning to roll in Antigua.

According to information reaching CaribbeanCricket.com, CEO Donald Peters has been sent on administrative leave pending an investigation of his performance and corporate services manager Tony Deyal has been fired for their roles in the brouhaha over the renovation/rental of Hunte's official WICB office in St Lucia.

Peters, who was hired as CEO less than a year ago, will be sent on administrative leave while a committee investigates his role in the episode, which exploded when a Trinidad Guardian report erroneously stated that the WICB spent US$150,000 to construct an office on property owned by Hunte.

Peters was quoted in the Guardian report as confirming that the WICB was paying for an office in St Lucia but could not verify if the building was owned by Dr Hunte.

"I am aware that the WICB has an office in St Lucia for which we are paying but I cannot say where it is located and who owns the building," Peters said in the explosive report.

Almost two weeks after the publication of that story, Peters inexplicably could not provide clarity to the issue.  When contacted by CaribbeanCricket.com, Peters said he was "unaware" of the renovation/rental issue, which occurred before he was hired as CEO.

When asked why he, as CEO, had not seen it fit to investigate the contents of such a report, Peters declined comment and immediately sent a letter to the WICB board of directors accusing CaribbeanCricket.com of "leading questions" and "harrassment."

After a board meeting over the weekend, the WICB directors determined that he should proceed on administrative leave while an internal committee investigated his alleged dereliction of duty.  The directors are upset that its CEO did not see it fit to publicly correct the report, even after he knew it contained major inaccuracies.

Peters argued that it was counter-productive to issue an official response because the issue had no traction in the press. This is a justifiable response in some cases of public relations but, in this episode, the directors believed Peters should have issued a quick response because of the sensitivity of the allegations.

Deyal, the corporate services manager who was hired after the infamous Lucky Report called for such a position to help with the board's credibility, recommended the board demand an ownership stake in the WICB president's property and negotiate the rental downward to recover an investment that never took place.

The facts, now public, are that Hunte's company (West Indies General) secured a bank loan for EC$175,000 for the office renovation.  The WICB only paid for the purchase of equipment and furniturem which is standard operating procedure for offices used by WICB presidents in their home territory.  The WICB has paid for local office rentals for all recent WICB presidents -- including Pat Rousseau, Wes Hall, Teddy Griffith and Ken Gordon -- and purchased equipment/furniture for those facilities.

In this case, the WICB never paid for the office renovation and the rental was in keeping with standard operating procedure for a WICB president.

There were also concerns, confirmed by Peters at the meeting, that Deyal's antagonistic relationship with WIPA and others was ruining the board's attempt at restoring operational credibility.

Deyal turned up at the WICB office in Antigua today but left complaining of feeling unwell.  He told CaribbeanCricket.com this morning that he was aware of rumors of his dismissal but he had not been formally notified of anything. 

He said Peters was also aware of the WICB decision, having fielded a call from CMC.

More to come...