Amid deep and prolonged strife among local cricket groups, the Sport Ministry this evening unveiled an interim management body for cricket with renowned former Guyanese and West Indian cricketer Clive Lloyd as the head of the team.
The Interim Management Committee will comprise fifteen members. Eight of them will come from the previously recognized boards. Of the eight persons, two would be drawn from Berbice, two would represent Essequibo, two would represent the previously recognized Guyana Cricket Board and one representative each would come from the factions of the Demerara Board.
The Minister has also appointed the following persons to serve on the committee: attorney Edward Luckhoo, former Works Minister Anthony Xavier, retired army head Norman McLean, chartered accountant Harry Parmesar and Permanent Secretary in the sport ministry, Alfred King. A seventh person is to be named shortly.
The ministry said the IMC’s mandate encompasses:
* The drafting of a new constitution, which will be presented to all county boards and other stakeholders for their deliberations and adoption.
* The drafting of legislation with the relevant stakeholders that would be tabled in parliament.
* The development and implementation of a cricket development programme at the national and regional levels.
* The reconciliation of the factions of the Demerara Board into one Demerara Board.
* To conduct an immediate review on the status of all financial transactions by an independent auditor.
* Other issues that the IMC may deem pertinent to the development of cricket in Guyana.
The ministry said that the IMC will be in place for six months. During this period it will report on a monthly basis to the Minister of Sport, Dr Frank Anthony. Upon completion of its work the committee will report on its major findings, make recommendations and “invite an authority with competence in electoral matters to hold elections for office bearers at both the Regional and National levels.”
In the statement, Minister Anthony expressed his gratitude to the members of the IMC for agreeing to serve. He encouraged all stakeholders to give full cooperation to the IMC. “Let us all work together to bring (an) end to the problems that have plagued Guyanese cricket over the last few years”, he urged.
The Ministry has previously founded its intervention in this matter on a ruling by Chief Justice Ian Chang following an application from a Berbician Angela Haniff for relief in relation to a controversial election.
The Chief Justice in his ruling on August 22, 2011 had said inter alia: “It is a matter of common knowledge that there exists a Ministry responsible for Sport in general. This indicates that the State has assumed responsibility for the welfare, promotion and proper administration of sports in Guyana and that, since in the present state of affairs, while a legislative structure for the administration of cricket is desirable, there may be the immediate need for the Minister responsible for sports to impose his executive will in the national interest until such time as Parliament can provide a more permanent welfare structure.”
The Ministry’s statement said that based on this ruling, Minister Anthony met with the various representatives of the previously recognized boards to apprise them of the government’s intention. According to the statement, the Minister and the then President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo and Lloyd met with Dr. Julian Hunte, President of the West Indian Cricket Board. Anthony again met with representatives of the previously recognized boards and discussed the way forward.
Based on the Chief Justice’s ruling and the discussions over the last few months the statement said that Anthony had decided to proceed with the interim body.
The statement added that the previously recognized Guyana Cricket Board members were written to informing them of the setting up of the Interim Management Committee.
The present Guyana Cricket Board is headed by Ramsay Ali. He was named to the post of President after controversial elections that were flayed for several glaring irregularities.
Concerns have been voiced locally over whether the WICB will frown on government’s involvement in cricket matters. Ali had been recognized by the WICB and cricket sources have suggested that unless there was explicit clearance from the regional board for the IMC, local cricket could be sanctioned by the WICB.
Acid attack
The problems in local cricket burst onto the national stage following an acid attack on May 25, 2010 on then assistant treasurer of the Guyana Cricket Board, Pretipaul Jaigobin. He was convinced that he was targeted because of questions he had raised about financial and other improprieties at the level of the board. He spent several months in the Burn Care Unit of the Georgetown Hospital and was disfigured in the attack.
In the months that followed, Jaigobin and others kept the pressure up over their concerns about what a faction of the GCB was up to.
In October this year, Jaigobin in a letter to the press asked what else needed to be done to ensure fairness and justice.
“Since the court (Justice Chang’s decision) has no jurisdiction and the relevant authorities have failed to act what must the concerned stakeholders do for justice? My burn scars present permanent evidence of the wages received for doing good in a climate that seeks to embrace and support wrongdoers”.
Following the attack on Jaigobin, Minister Anthony had summoned several meetings of cricket executives and others to sort the problems out however the divisions at the level of the GCB persisted and there were continuing questions over its finances and financial practices which were never resolved.
In addition to the GCB’s problems, the Demerara Cricket Board has also been enmeshed in a protracted dispute over the legitimacy of the various factions which saw several legal actions being instituted in local courts. That matter remains unresolved.
