Ministry of Sport and Community Development addresses erroneous statements made by the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Paralympic Committee

Port of Spain, September 13, 2024 – The Ministry of Sport and Community Development is categorically denying the claims made by Mr. Sudhir Ramessar, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Paralympic Committee (TTPC) on I95.5FM’s I Sport radio programme regarding the Ministry’s lack of support to the TTPC for the recently concluded Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

To be clear, neither the TTPC nor its President Mr. Sudhir Ramessar has ever submitted an application for grant support to the Ministry from the year 2015 to present.  Additionally, there is no record of a budget being submitted for the consideration of the Ministry as is being asserted by Mr. Ramessar.  During the period 2015 to September 2024, the Ministry received two requests for individual grants from para-athletes Shanntol Ince and Nyoshia Cain towards participation in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. These Individual applicants were granted the sum of $70,000 each.

The Director of Physical Education and Sport and his team at the Ministry of Sport and Community Development have been in contact with Mr. Ramessar on a number of occasions to guide on the requirements and process to submit a completed application for a Sports Grant, as is the norm with any association or individual wishing to access funding from the Ministry.

It must also be noted that once an application is received via the official form, the Ministry immediately acknowledges receipt and begins the process of reviewing the submission to ensure that all supporting documents are received. Once this is completed, the submission is evaluated and then a decision is made. Thereafter, applicants are updated on the decision of the Grants Committee.

Applications can be made through the Ministry’s website, where forms and detailed guidelines for these grants are available.  For more information on the application process and eligibility, all interested parties can visit the Ministry’s website at https://mscd.gov.tt/funding-overview/.

  The Ministry of Sport and Community Development wishes to reiterate that the Sports Grants are available to all National Governing Bodies for sport and community groups in support of their plans, programmes and activities that foster sport development, facilitate athletic performance and engender a spirit of community living.