Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe says she cannot be upstaged by anyone. She was responding to allegations that former Tourism Development Company (TDC) chairman Dennise Demming tried to upstage her in presenting a vision for the tourism sector.
Breaking her silence one week after the firing of Demming, Cudjoe in an interview yesterday said she and Demming worked hand-in-hand to boost tourism.
Asked if Demming, who has a wealth of knowledge in the sector, made her look incompetent as a minister, Cudjoe chuckled.
“That is so funny. Over the time Dennise had been chairman we worked hand-in-hand in getting tourism out there. I cannot be upstaged.
“Look at this, I cannot be upstaged neither can Dennise because we have our own style, personalities and our own way of doing things. To say upstaging and that kind of thing... that is no way in my deliberation and consideration or anything like that. Trust me, I did not really see any upstaging.”
She had no qualms about the upstaging talk that had been plastered on social media.
“I really think it is nonsense. It’s so petty and foolish to me. How can a Cabinet sit and make a decision based on upstaging?” Cudjoe asked.
Several times during the interview, she insisted she had nothing personal against Demming.
“At the end of the day there is still love and respect for Dennise Demming. I don’t hold any bad feelings for anybody on that. I don’t see any room for that,” she said.
However, while Cudjoe vowed to improve the tourism industry, she admitted the TDC was fraught with shortcomings of not having a marketing strategy and lacked collaboration with units within the ministry.
Following her dismissal, Demming called for better governance in terms of how State boards executed their functions.
She said once people did not understand their roles and responsibilities, they were going to trip over each other.
Cudjoe said she felt the relationship between the TDC and ministry needed strengthening, collaboration and to work on the same page.
“While the rest of the region had been experiencing positive growth for us in some of our major markets, our numbers have been dwindling,” Cudjoe said.
Based on that, Cudjoe said she began asking the TDC questions.
“You can not tell me you want to go out to the world travel market or whatever trade show and the reason why you want to go is because you have been going for the last ten years. Yes, you have been going for the last ten years but you have to show me what have you been able to produce,” she added.
Cudjoe said when she asked TDC for its marketing strategy, she was presented with a list of trips. Apart from that, there was a duplication of functions with the ministry and TDC’s research units, while there were some shortcomings which she was trying to iron out, she explained.
Cudjoe described Demming as a “upright, straightforward and knowledgable woman. Denise Demming and I have been friends for quite some time,” she said.
She said Cabinet appointed Demming and based on information presented to it, it deliberated and decided to terminate her services.
She said the sacking was based on facts.