In a bid to end the impasse over the national game here, the Government yesterday tabled the Guyana Cricket Administration Bill which seeks to establish county boards as corporate bodies and supplies a constitution for the embattled Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).
The government is hoping that unanimous passage of the bill will end the stalemate with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) which has already seen international matches being pulled from Guyana. Having been supplied with details of the proposed constitution, the WICB has already told the government that it has major disagreements with some of the provisions, in particular the planned dissolution of the GCB. Opposition politicians have also signalled that they have concerns over the powers accorded to the Sport Minister in the bill.
The absence of a corporate structure for the county boards had been exposed when a representative of the Berbice Cricket Board last year challenged the validity of the GCB elections. Chief Justice Ian Chang threw out the matter on the grounds that all of the associations embroiled in the matter were legal non entities and had been so from their inception. Therefore they could not sue or be sued.
In the name of Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, the bill tabled in Parliament seeks to remedy this by establishing the boards as bodies corporate and conserves their status and operations. In the case of the controversy wracked GCB, which the government does not recognize, a constitution is contained in the schedule of the bill and Part 111 5(4) of the bill says that the “rules, regulations, bylaws and constitutions of the former Guyana Cricket Board are replaced by the Constitution of the Guyana Cricket Board” and further that “each and every office established under the rules, regulations, bylaws and constitutions of the former Guyana Cricket Board shall cease to exist at the commencement of this Act”. This provision is at the crux of the cricket impasse as the WICB says it will not recognize any dissolution of the GCB.
Clause 9(1) of the bill mandates that the GCB and county boards shall maintain proper accounts and that these have to be submitted to the Auditor General not later than three months after the end of the financial year. The report of the Auditor General then has to be laid before the National Assembly.
Under Clause 10, the GCB and county boards have to present to the National Sports Commission an annual report on their work and activities no later than March 31st of each year.
Part 12 (g) of the proposed constitution of the GCB says that the President of the GCB shall serve for a period not exceeding three terms. The need for this had been stressed by some GCB dissidents. Part 12 (k) also sets out grounds upon which a person can be debarred from becoming or serving as a member of the GCB or a member of its executive committee.
These include if the person within the previous 10 years has had a conviction imposed on him or her by a court of Guyana or a competent court of foreign jurisdiction “in respect of any offence involving any act which would reasonably be considered to be dishonest. “
The disqualification will also apply if the person becomes insolvent, is or has been an executive or member of the controlling committee of a sports club, association or committee which has become unable to pay its debts.
A suspension or ban from any involvement in the administration of a sport by any ruling body here or any corresponding regional or international body will also make the person ineligible as well as action or association that “sullies the image or brings the game of cricket into disrepute”.
Vote of no confidence
The constitution also says at 21 (a) that “The Executive Committee as a body or any member or members of the Executive Committee may be removed from office by a motion of No Confidence moved by a County Board and seconded by another County Board and supported by a majority of at least two-thirds of members voting at an Annual General Meeting, Ordinary General Meeting or Special General Meeting, and a new Executive Committee or new individual member or members shall be elected at the same meeting at which the vote of no confidence was passed and shall serve the remainder of the two (2)-year term of the Board. The motion must be discussed at the general meeting before a vote is taken”.
Since last December, the government has moved to delegitimize the GCB. It set up an interim cricket management committee headed by Clive Lloyd. This was followed by lockouts of GCB officials from the board’s property and police searches of the house of some of the members. It also saw resignations from the GCB and legal action by some members of the GCB against the government.
Throughout all of this, the WICB has remained steadfast to its position that it only recognizes the GCB and not the government-appointed interim body.
