Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has praised the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), crediting them as a sporting body whose standards should be replicated in all sporting disciplines throughout Guyana.
Nandlall hailed the BCB during his feature presentation at the fifth annual BCB awards ceremony Saturday night at the New Amsterdam State House where he was deputising for President Donald Ramotar.
Ever since the government via Chief Justice Ian Chang’s ruling implemented the Interim Management Committee (IMC) on December 23rd last, the AG has been a major figure for the government in the ongoing cricket imbroglio with the now disbanded Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
Nandlall explained that in his view the core problem with the GCB and by extension the WICB was one of accountability.
“Firstly I would like to congratulate the BCB for its support of the IMC and I assure you (the BCB), you will have representation on the new GCB, since those who hijacked the board, excluded the true representatives of cricket in this county in an election that was widely alleged to be fraudulent,” Nandlall stated forcefully.
He continued: “The solution we are seeking does not just lie with this problem alone, we must examine the causes of the problem so that we understand what caused it and we can ensure they are never repeated years to come. The core problem is one of accountability and transparency at the cricket board level in Guyana, the WICB and all other member boards that have similar issues like Guyana.”
Nandall also noted that the need for national governments to be constantly accountable to the people, is something that should also be applicable to the governing bodies in sports.
“We in the government are always cognizant of our responsibilities to be accountable and transparent to our citizens and this also should be the case with sports governance,” Nandlall highlighted.
He continued: “These organizations who administer sports have a responsibility to the stakeholders and people of Guyana. They use largely public facilities, the GCB does not own any ground in Guyana, they depend on the government grounds and public funds (sponsorship for local tournaments) in order to operate.
The GCB is not a private body, they may be a private incorporated body, but they perform a public function – thus when they carry out their task, they must do it in a manner that is beyond reproach…”
He described the Honorable Chief Justice Chang’s, August 2011 ruling as one of the most notable landmark judgments in the entire Caribbean as he downplayed assertions that the government is using the IMC just to play politics.
“The chief justice in his examinations found what we all know that cricket is not merely a game in Guyana and the Caribbean, but cricket is a key part of our cultural architecture and is probably the single most unifying force in Guyana and the West Indies,” stated Nandlall in a somber tone.
“It is not the policy of the government to intervene in any sports organization in the country, but what does a government do when its premier national sport is in complete chaos?”
“The formation of the IMC is not a political issue or a government issue. This is where the executive body of the state by the ruling of the judicial arm was asked to address what is obviously an issue of fundamental national importance. I’m very disappointed in the people, politicians, who think the IMC is to play politics, this is furthest from the truth – it is about fixing the national institution called cricket that is perishing,” Nandlall declared.
In closing Nandlall reaffirmed that the IMC will continue its work shortly and it will then be disbanded (the six month deadline is June 23rd) and those people who are interested in administering cricket will participate in elections under the configuration that the IMC will design.
