Transport Minister Chandresh Sharma says he will accept a letter of resignation from deputy chairman of the Airports Authority Kurt Ajodha if it is found that he misrepresented his qualifications on his curriculum vitae. In an interview on Tuesday night, Sharma said Ajodha delivered a letter to him days after Opposition MP Colm Imbert questioned Ajodha’s qualifications in Parliament. However, almost a week later, Sharma has not read the letter. Sharma said the letter was delivered to his office last week Thursday, while he was attending his daughter’s graduation in Canada.
It came a day after Imbert questioned why 34-year-old Ajodha was hired when he was not qualified for his post. Imbert claimed Ajodha was not the holder of degrees from the University of the West Indies, the New York Institute of Technology and School of Architecture or the Project Management Institute, as stated in his CV. Sharma said: “Mr Ajodha did submit a letter which I haven’t had a chance to look at as yet. I do not know if it’s a letter of resignation. We were in Parliament all day and Monday was our UNC forum. I haven’t had time to look at it.”
He promised to read the letter before Cabinet meets today. Sharma said if Ajodha is not qualified, the most appropriate action was for him to resign. He noted that after perusing Ajodha’s qualification, he will decide whether to accept a letter of resignation.
In the meantime, Ajodha continues to act in his current position. Checks by the T&T Guardian revealed that Ajodha’s name is not on the list of graduates at UWI or the Project Management Institute. Several attempts to reach him at the Airports Authority this week were futile. A UNC source said it was Sharma who recommended Ajodha for the post of deputy chairman, bypassing several other professionals. Apart from his board appointment, Ajodha has also acted as a consultant at the Ministry of Transport on a range of projects, including those by the Public Transport Service Corporation the Port Authority of T&T ) and those undertaken by the National Insurance Property Development Company Ltd.