The Parliamentary Opposition, yesterday accused the Government of Guyana of setting a dangerous precedent by its involvement in the affairs of the local cricket board and urged the government to end the lockout of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) from its Regent Street office and also to withdraw the Interim Management Committee (IMC).
The government of Guyana has set up an IMC to run the affairs of cricket locally in contravention to the International Cricket Council’s position on government interference.
However, opposition parties, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) yesterday issued a joint statement calling for an end to the lockout of the GCB and the withdrawal of the IMC.
“We, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) are calling for an end to the government lock-out of the GCB from its offices at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground, Bourda.
“We are also calling for the government to withdraw the Interim Management Committee (IMC) from cricket operations in Guyana,” the joint communiqué stated.
According to the release, “the parliamentary majority parties share with all Guyanese the desire to see improvements in the administration, operation and performance at all levels of Guyana’s cricket.
“However, all interventions must be carried out in accordance with the principles, practices and values that govern sport in today’s world.”
The opposition parties pointed out that the ICC, the IOC and FIFA, the world governing body for cricket, Olympic sport and football respectively had established clear-cut guidelines for the resolving of disputes within federations/associations.
“The International Cricket Council (ICC) has followed the precedent of the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in establishing operating protocols for the non-interference of government in sports,” the release stated.
“As such, the government of Guyana is acting contrary to the thrust of the international community on matters of sport and is attempting to set a dangerous precedent for all sports in Guyana,” the release added.
The two parties stated that while it was their belief that, as the parliamentary majority, they must do their best, given the available resources and competing national priorities, to provide an enabling environment for young athletes to perform well at international levels, “this must never translate into interference in the operations of sports administrations.
“To meddle in the operations of sports administration is to risk being excommunicated from the regional and international sporting fraternities – clear signs of which we have already seen with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) having moved four critical matches from Guyana,” the release stated.
The release also pointed out that Guyana stood to lose the staging of the third West Indies versus Australia Test match adding that….”the last thing the Government of Guyana should be seeking to achieve is to bring more embarrassment to Guyana on the regional and international scene by their continued action.
“We are therefore calling on the government today to return to the agreement reached on January 11 during talks brokered by the CARICOM Secretariat between the Government of Guyana and the WICB.”
According to the WICB, the Government of Guyana, has not yet signed the Draft Agreement it reached with CARICOM and the WICB.
The agreement, if signed will allow the GCB to continue to represent the interests of the WICB its parent body and to discharge its responsibilities locally.
It will also facilitate the IMC to review and reform the administrative and governance apparatus of cricket in Guyana and ultimately allow for fresh elections after its six month stint.
“Since the GCB and the WICB both expressed a willingness to work with the IMC under these conditions there is no reason for the Government to withhold signature and undermine the efforts of the CARICOM Secretariat and in particular the CARICOM Secretary General as an honest broker in a matter that has significance and consequences way beyond our own borders,” the APNU/AFC release stated.
