Minister Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony at a recent press briefing to point out the rationale for the formation of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) said it was done to help the process of cricket development in Guyana.
Minister Anthony was joined by Permanent Secretary Alfred King and elected Chairman of the IMC, Clive Lloyd at the briefing held in the ministry boardroom at Main Street. Minister Anthony said that the formation of the committee also seeks to address the many management and transparency problems that have been plaguing and distracting Guyanese cricket.
Minister Anthony expressing his disgusted at the state of local cricket said, “we have got a problem with cricket in our country…we have a problem with the administration of cricket in Guyana,” referring to the dispute between the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB).
“Apparently the administration of cricket in Guyana is spending more time in court than on the playing field,” he further noted.
“It’s unfair to the Guyanese population, to the players out there, when you have people fighting each other in court and not doing enough for the game,” he said and added, “we are trying to fix these things so we can have more people going back to the game and playing the game.” Anthony said that periodically the ministry would have met with the various boards to try to resolve some of the many issues plaguing cricket in Guyana. He said that the ministry has not however been successful in getting the boards to cooperate.
“We have allowed enough space for the boards to self heal; apparently that is not possible,” Anthony said. The Sport Minister said that one of the main issues on the committee agenda is resolving the issue of which one of the constitutions of the GCB is really the correct one. He said also said that there are allegations of financial impropriety within the level of the various boards, and added that the ministry cannot take such allegations lightly and with the committee in place, a forensic audit to determine the validity of the accusation will be conducted.
He also said that the IMC will also be tasked with assisting the ministry with creating a comprehensive cricket development programme that can be put in place from the various levels of the schools. Lloyd told the media that the IMC formation is not to take over the administration of cricket in Guyana. He said that cricket has been struggling for a while and all the Government through the ministry is trying to accomplish with the committee’s formation is to rectify the situation and attempt to bring Guyana’s cricket back to the position that it was accustomed to years ago.
On December 23, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport released a press release that announced the formation of the IMC. It stated that it was formed following the Honorable Chief Justice Ian Chang’s ruling on August 22, 2011, which basically states that, given the present state of affairs, there may be the immediate need for the Minister responsible for sports to impose his executive will in the national interest of the sport until such time as Parliament can provide a more permanent welfare structure. The decision was also arrived at after several discussions over the last few months with the various representatives of the previously recognized cricket boards.
The committee which is to comprise 15 members, eight from the previously recognized boards and seven appointed by the minister will be in place for a limited period of six months. During this period the committee is expected to report on a monthly basis to the Minister Anthony and upon completion of its work the committee will report on its major findings, make recommendations for the way forward and invite an authority with competence in electoral matters to hold elections for office bearers at both the Regional and National levels.
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