Guardian Media's Investigations Desk obtained a bundle of invoices showing that the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago billed $436,081.78 for a three-day executive retreat in Tobago from January 16 to 18, 2026. Eleven people attended. Acting CEO Keino Cox stayed in the King Suite at $1,961 per night. The retreat included golfing at the Magdalena Grand, dinner at Seahorse Inn, a boat trip to No Man's Land beach in Bon Accord, a bonfire, pannists, drummers and dancers, and twelve goodie bags costing $9,000.
TSTT reported an $82.2 million loss for the year ended March 2025. Its workers remain on 2013 salary levels.
What the Invoices Show
The primary invoice, dated January 20, 2026, breaks down as follows before VAT: $203,265 for event production, $73,492 for supervision and coordination, $72,167 for hotel accommodation, and $38,704 for branded tokens. With 12.5% VAT, the total reached $436,081.78.
A second invoice, from Tobago-based Stage Solutions Ltd and dated January 17, 2026, listed 32 separate services totalling $180,680 before VAT. The itemisation is revealing. Executive concierge services cost $15,000. Retreat coordination and logistics cost another $15,000. The Seahorse Inn dinner reservations were $12,500. Pannists, drummers and dancers came to $10,500. Twelve goodie bags were $9,000. Labour was $7,500. A 20-foot bmobile-branded arch was $5,000. Golfing at the Magdalena Grand ran $4,800. A bonfire cost $3,600. Ambient lighting for the boat and land was $3,600. A bmobile backdrop was $3,500. Pre- and post-event cleaning was $3,000. Recreational games were $2,500. Grass turf was $2,000.
For eleven people. Over three days. At a company that lost $82 million.
The Denial Without Numbers
TSTT spokesperson Janelle David initially called the invoiced figures "inaccurate and significantly overstated." Following what the company described as an internal review, TSTT revised its position to claim the amounts were "overstated by approximately 60 per cent." The company did not release a revised invoice. It did not provide an alternative total. It did not explain which line items were disputed or why.
Even at 60% less, the retreat cost approximately $174,000 for three days - still more than $15,000 per person. TSTT described the event as "purpose-driven," citing "strategic planning sessions, leadership alignment and operational discussions, meetings with representatives of the Tobago House of Assembly, and brand execution and engagement activities involving members of the public." How golfing, bonfires, and $9,000 in goodie bags constituted strategic planning or public engagement was not elaborated.
Acting CEO Keino Cox, contacted by the Guardian via WhatsApp, said he was in transit and referred questions to David. Cox was appointed acting CEO in July 2025, replacing Kent Western who stepped down. The current board, installed by the Minister of Public Utilities in June 2025, is chaired by Kern Dass - a UNC appointee - alongside directors Randy Ramtahal, Nadira Parbhudial, Cassilina Kelshall, and Kyle Maloney. This is the board that either approved the retreat spending or failed to prevent it.
State board patronage in Trinidad and Tobago is bipartisan. An estimated 300 to 400 board positions change hands with every change of government. Both the PNM and the UNC practice wholesale board replacement when they take power, installing political allies across every state enterprise from TSTT to the HDC to CAL. The retreat spending occurred under a UNC-appointed board, but the governance structures that allow it - minimal oversight, no independent appointments process, no performance criteria - were built and maintained by both parties over decades.
The Company Behind the Spending
TSTT's financial problems extend well beyond one retreat. The company is 51% owned by National Enterprises Limited - the state's holding company - and 49% by Cable & Wireless. It has recently borrowed $1.5 billion, much of it invested in lines of business characterised by low margins and heavy competition.
The $82.2 million loss for the year ended March 2025 came against a backdrop of declining revenues that has persisted for years. Competition from Digicel eroded its mobile market share. Its landline business has contracted alongside the global shift to mobile and internet communication. Revenue has fallen while fixed costs - including a large workforce inherited from TSTT's monopoly era - have remained.
Workers have not received a salary adjustment since 2013 - over a decade on frozen pay while the cost of living in Trinidad and Tobago has risen significantly. The company offered a one-off $15,000 payment to staff, which the Communications Workers' Union dismissed as "meaningless" in the context of ten years without a raise.
The Governance Failure
The retreat exposed a governance structure that, on paper, has multiple layers of oversight but in practice appears to have none.
TSTT's parent company, NEL, was asked about the spending at its annual shareholder meeting. NEL's response: it "does not get involved in the operational aspect" of its subsidiaries. This from a holding company whose purpose is to manage the government's commercial investments.
The situation became more complicated when TSTT Chairman Kern Dass was also elected to the NEL board of directors. The CWU raised the obvious concern: when the same individuals hold roles across connected entities, "stakeholders may question whether decisions are made in the interest of the enterprise or in the interest of maintaining alignment among related organisations." An entity tasked with oversight cannot effectively oversee itself.
Minister in the Ministry of Public Utilities Clyde Elder - himself a former trade unionist - was called upon by the CWU to intervene. Secretary General Joanne Ogeer expressed disappointment that Elder had not reached out. When contacted by Guardian Media, the minister said he had "no comment on the issue at this time." No formal government investigation or audit has been publicly announced.
The Union's Threat
The CWU's response went beyond criticising the retreat. Ogeer called it a "frolicking exercise" and a waste of taxpayers' money. She described videos showing executives playing games and socialising. Then she made a threat: "In three weeks, the Communication Workers' Union will buss, buss more files."
The implication is that the retreat invoices are not the only documentation the union possesses. Ogeer said the CWU would expose "political interference" and "union-busting tactics." Whether this is a genuine whistleblowing campaign or a bargaining tactic in ongoing labour negotiations is not yet clear. What is clear is that a union threatening to leak internal documents about executive spending at a state-owned company is not a sign of an organisation functioning normally.
Workers have expressed frustration and called for industrial action. The CWU's position, as Ogeer put it: "Austerity is necessary, but it must apply to everyone."
What Is Still Missing
The fundamental question remains unanswered: what did TSTT actually pay? The company claims 60% less than the invoiced amount but refuses to produce the revised figures. Without that number, public assessment is impossible - and that appears to be the point.
Beyond the retreat itself, the broader picture is still opaque. What is the total executive compensation bill at TSTT? How does discretionary spending compare to the $82 million loss? Were competitive bids sought for the retreat services? Who is the advertising agency that received the Stage Solutions invoice and billed TSTT? Has any internal audit been conducted?
A state-owned company does not lose $82 million, freeze worker salaries for a decade, borrow $1.5 billion, spend six figures on a retreat, and then refuse to provide receipts without something being structurally wrong with oversight. The minister has said nothing. NEL says oversight is not its role. The board chairman now sits on the board of the company meant to oversee him.
The retreat is a symptom. The disease is the absence of anyone in the chain of accountability who appears willing to ask hard questions - or answer them.
Sources
- Trinidad Guardian: "TSTT billed $.5M for 11 execs on 3-day Tobago retreat" (March 2026)
- Trinidad Guardian: "TSTT denies 'spending' over $400,000 on retreat" (March 2026)
- Trinidad Guardian: "Bacchanal over TSTT retreat" (March 2026)
- Trinidad Guardian: "NEL shareholders question TSTT spending" (March 2026)
- Trinidad Guardian: "Kern Dass appointed as chairman of NEL" (2026)
- CNC3: "TSTT billed $.5M for 11 execs on 3-day Tobago retreat" (March 2026)
- CNC3: "CWU boss threatens to 'buss' more TSTT files" (March 2026)
- CNC3: "Bacchanal over TSTT retreat - CWU calls for minister to intervene" (March 2026)
- CNC3: "CWU raises concerns over governance at NEL and TSTT" (March 2026)
- TTT News: "TSTT denies $400K executive retreat claim" (March 2026)
- Tringlobe: "CWU demands truth on TSTT Tobago retreat spending figures" (March 2026)
- Trinidad Express: "Cox named acting CEO of TSTT" (July 2025)
- Newsday: "TSTT gets new board of directors" (June 2025)
- TSTT: Financial statements - $82.2 million loss for year ended March 2025
- TSTT: Board of Directors page (tstt.co.tt)
Note: TSTT disputed the invoice figures, claiming amounts were overstated by approximately 60%, but did not provide alternative numbers or a revised invoice.