Yesterday, sports in Guyana plunged to a new low. It was the first time in recent history that one can recall two separate annual general meetings being held by one organization. Given what took place yesterday, one could be forgiven for thinking that this is the “Silly Season.”
This is the extent to which sports administration has fallen. It is no longer about our athletes, our cricketers, our footballers it is all about the perks and the privileges to be gained by those who call themselves sports administrators. It is nothing short of shameful.
It is not that the signs were not there but, as is often the case, Guyanese simply turn a blind eye to these developments unless of course it ultimately affects them.
What is alarming is that one of the two factions of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) must be in the wrong. That much is clear. It means that whichever party is in the wrong is attempting to foist the use of strong arm tactics on the other faction to achieve their objective and that does not augur well for the future of the sport and for those who might win the elections.
What is at stake is simply not the presidency of the DCB but rather, the grand prize of the presidency of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).
Yesterday’s all important meeting was expected to name the president of the DCB who would have the support of the crucial Demerara votes at month end’s AGM of the GCB.
But now there is the unsavoury situation of there being two Demerara Cricket Board presidents.
What is disturbing is the absence of any attempt by the authorities especially the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony to intervene and ensure that there are scrutineers to verify the authenticity of what transpires at these meetings given the divide.
The Guyana Cricket Board, too, simply sat back and made no attempt to get involved even though as the governing body for cricket it is vested with the responsibility of ensuring that such incidents do not occur.
Given what has transpired before what are the authorities waiting for, another acid throwing affair?
It seems as if the people involved will stop at nothing to get their way.
Guyana’s cricket is much too important for it to be destroyed by power hungry persons who seem more interested in the huge sums of money now filtering into the GCB’s coffers from the lucrative IPL and other T20 tournaments than of attempting to develop the sport.
In hindsight one could have seen that this latest development was on the cards when an ill Chetram Singh was forced to seek medical attention abroad sometime last year.
The resulting furor over who was left in charge was an inkling of things to come. What is of concern however is that this present incident is symptomatic of what is happening in the wider society. It seems as if persons with money and power are able to do as they please. This is Guyana today!
Apart from statements by President Bharrat Jagdeo, outgoing GCB president Singh and Director of Sport, Neil Kumar, there has been a deafening silence from the rest of society over the latest development. It seems as if persons are afraid to get involved, to speak their mind.
Some sections of the media too, have been culpable in all of this. They have been guilty of one-sided reporting in some instances even as those involved attempted to leak information in the battle to win public opinion.
Guyana is a society that seems on the verge of imploding. There are so many issues that need to be addressed and yet nothing is done until it is too late. The Neesa Gopaul death is a classic case.
In sports as in the wider society, there is an absence of recourse for those who feel and those who are being wronged.
The divide that exists in the DCB exists in other aspects of society in government, in offices, in schools, in clubs and even in homes.
The divide is there simply because there are those among us who fail to recognize and accept when they are wrong. Might, they feel, is always right.
Given what has transpired this past week, the time is right for the Minister for sport to get involved.
Maybe the way forward is for the Minister to set up an Interim Committee of persons who in the past have shown that they are serious about the development of Guyana’s cricket (and not the other benefits) and let them run the affairs of the GCB while the other issues are sorted out and only when the situation is back to some semblance of normalcy should there be elections to find the true successor for Chetram Singh.
