Dear Editor,
Things are looking comical for Minister Anthony’s IMC or we can say Clive Lloyd’s IMC. Let us retrace our steps before we describe the circus. The Chief Justice refused an injunction in relation to the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB). He said that since the board has no legal existence legal action cannot be used. But he opined that the Government can intervene since there is a Sports Ministry.
Misinterpreting an opinion, the Sports Minister saw the words of the Judge as a mandate to act. But the judge’s “mandate” and the Minister’s IMC are in trouble. A group of top Guyanese cricketers including test players have written to the President of the Republic. In their letter they want the IMC’s padlocks to be removed from the GCB’s offices. The letter went on to state that, “They hinder the Guyana Cricket Board from fully functioning.” That is development number one.
Development number two (I am excluding the WI Cricket Board’s rejection of the IMC) is that the Essequibo Cricket Board has not recognized the IMC and is accepting the authority of the GCB. Where is the comical dimension mentioned at the start of my letter? It is plain to see. The Chief Justice saw confusion and offered an opinion. The Minister accepted there was confusion and installed an IMC. Now the IMC itself in is confusion because it has become part of the original imbroglio.
So we have the IMC, the Guyana Cricket Board, the Essequibo Cricket Board and some top cricketers all of whom are in the confusion. What we need now is another “mandate” to bring peace to the warring factions which ironically and facetiously includes the IMC. Where is that “mandate?” (Can someone please teach Minister Anthony some semantics; an opinion cannot be a mandate and Justice Ian Chang’s opinion is his and why should his opinion be superior to other Guyanese citizens?) Well it means just as how Justice Chang wanted to restore stability to cricket administration and his recommendation got into a tangle, another person has to offer an opinion from which we can act to sort out the mess which happens to include the Minister’s IMC.
I have such a viewpoint. Here it is. I will follow the logic of Justice Chang. Now that we have further confusion in which some stakeholders are not listening to the Government of Guyana’s IMC, then since we have an integration movement in which Guyana is an integral part, then I would suggest that this integration movement, which is known by the name CARICOM, should form another IMC to oversee the problem between the Minister’s IMC and the cricketing authorities.
I would suggest that the Secretary-General of CARICOM consult as far and wide as possible for his IMC membership. If IMC number two fails because IMC number one and the GCB reject it, then maybe we can get IMC number three by asking the United Nations’ Secretary-General to further set up another IMC. If IMC number three is rejected, then how about an arbitrator to bring IMC number one, IMC number two, IMC number three and the GCB to their senses. My proposal is that the former Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo be given the job.
Yours faithfully,
Frederick Kissoon
