-feel abandoned by gov’t
By Iva Wharton
Members of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) set up by the government to run cricket here will make a decision over the weekend as to whether they will resign from the body.
The move comes after a resurgence in activity by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) in areas that the IMC was supposed to operate.
A source close to the IMC told Stabroek Sport that a decision was not arrived at yesterday when the group met since Chairman, Clive Lloyd is out of the country. Lloyd, Stabroek Sport, was told is expected in the country sometime this weekend.
The IMC has been caught in a fierce row between the Guyana Government and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over the GCB. The government derecognized the GCB last year but the WICB has been adamant that it only recognizes the GCB and not the Lloyd-headed body. As a result, the WICB pulled international cricket matches from Guyana.
According to the source, the desire of members to resign from the committee stemmed from a feeling of abandonment by the government.
The government, the source said was responsible for the creation of the IMC and now it seemed that they have cut them loose.
Asked if Lloyd is aware of the plans to resign, the source replied in the affirmative and that he was upset that there seemed not to be any decision coming from Government on the way forward for the IMC. The source said that Lloyd, too, had contemplated resigning but said the final decision will be made when he arrives.
In December of 2011, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport announced the formation of a 15-member IMC to manage the affairs of cricket in Guyana. The decision to form the IMC stemmed from a ruling handed down by Chief Justice Ian Chang in August of 2011.
Among the intended functions of the IMC were the creation of a new constitution and overseeing the election of a new executive to run the operations of the GCB which had been enmeshed in serious controversy. In its attempt to find a resolution, the Government through the Ministry of Home Affairs sought to have the IMC recognized by the West Indies Cricket Board but this was rejected on all fronts. The government’s latest proposal to have an agent appointed by the WICB in Guyana was rejected and President of the WICB Dr. Julian Hunte also said the board was disappointed with the government’s proposed legislation for a new cricket board and called for further consultations before its implementation.
The life of the IMC was supposed to have ended in July, but Lloyd had said in a previous interview with this publication that it was extended since the work was not completed.
Also, the IMC Chairman last week said he was penning a letter to President Donald Ramotar after it was discovered that Guyana had missed the initial deadline to submit its team to contest the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament. The GCB met the extended deadline for the submission of a team and the WICB subsequently accepted the team.
