Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath is threatening legal action against Secretary General of the Communication Workers’ Union, Joanne Ogeer, over statements she made during a recent press conference on issues at TSTT.
He has given Ms Ogeer 14 days to apologise, retract the statements made against him and remove a Facebook video containing the comments, or face legal action.
In a pre-action protocol letter dated Monday, September 21st, 2026, attorneys from Freedom Law Chamber, representing the Minister, said comments made by Ms Ogeer during a September 14th press conference falsely accused him of being complicit in wrongdoing at TSTT.
The letter cites statements in which the CWU Secretary General allegedly claimed that Minister Padarath:
i) was knowingly complicit in wrongdoing, misconduct and/or improper conduct at TSTT;
ii) was deliberately turning a blind eye to corruption, conflicts of interest, questionable deals, waste and other improper conduct at TSTT;
iii) was financially compromised, conflicted and/or improperly beholden to Mr Kern Dass because Mr Dass was his “financier”;
iv) had received a file exposing corruption, conflicts of interest and deals and had improperly instructed the TSTT CEO to stand down; and
v) was actively blocking scrutiny, defending improper conduct and encouraging wrongdoing or “folly” at the top of TSTT.
Freedom Law Chamber said those claims suggested that Minister Padarath had engaged in misconduct, corruption, abuse of office and improper financial influence. It described the allegations as false and damaging to his reputation and fitness for public office.
The attorneys are demanding a written apology from Ms Ogeer, a prominent public retraction, removal of the social media post, and an undertaking that the allegations will not be repeated, as well as damages and legal costs.
The letter warns that if the demands are not met within 14 days, legal proceedings for defamation will be initiated without further notice.