One week after Ramsey Ali relinquished his position as President of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) following a search at his home by members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the other nine executives of the embattled board have now followed suit.
In a press release sent to the media yesterday, First Vice-President Fizul Bacchus, Second Vice-President Alfred Mentore, Secretary Anand Sanasie, Treasurer Anand Kalladeen, Assistant Treasurer Dru Bahadur, Competition Committee Chairman Colin Europe, Chairman of Selectors Rayon Griffith, Junior Selector Nazimul Drepaul and Public Relations Officer Terry Holder tendered their resignations to Minster of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony.
The former executives in their joint statement cited how stressful the recent developments have been to them as a group and noted that they waited to make this announcement until they were certain that the Guyana team could continue to participate in the ongoing regional first-class tournament.
“We have been subjected to tremendous stress over the past weeks due to unrelenting state-sponsored court proceedings, searches and arrests. The threat of similar action has now been extended to include our constituent members’ executives.
Under duress we managed to outfit and send our teams to WICB tournaments but a recent court injunction prevents us from performing any function, never the less, as you requested, we have delayed this resignation until we were satisfied that all was done to ensure our team continues to participate in the regional four (4) day competition.
We are satisfied that, as Executives of the GCB, we have always performed our functions professionally, honestly and diligently for the upliftment of this glorious game.”
In conclusion they noted the strong financial position the board is in and told the minister that they will be forwarding the board’s 2011 audit report to him.
“The Guyana Cricket Board is presently in the best financial position it has ever been in its history with 400,000USD in its bank account even though we undertook many investment projects e.g. Hostels, training facilities etc. The Annual Audit report for 2011 is almost completed and would be forwarded to your office shortly, by our Auditor Barcellos, Narine& Co.”
Whether one has been in support of the GCB or the Interim Management Committee (IMC), this resignation brings partial closure to one faction of this saga that has been rocking local cricket.
Over the past two years the GCB has been wracked with allegations about financial improprieties, unaccountability and other matters such as visa racketeering.
This has led to a massive ongoing investigation by the Guyana Police Force (GPF), where they raided the homes and offices of a number of GCB executives.
The conflict between the GCB and the government began when the government dissolved the GCB due to the dispute over its July 2011 elections. The elections, in which Ali became president, were boycotted by the BCB, whose secretary Angela Haniff, took the GCB to court, citing that the new administration was not properly established.
Subsequently, in Chief Justice Ian Chang’s ruling, he recommended that “there may be immediate need for the sport minister to impose his executive will in the national interest.”
Eventually, Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony appointed an IMC headed by ex-West Indies Captain Clive Lloyd, to run cricket in Guyana last December.
