Dear Editor,
I am heartened by the genuine intentions of our present government to restore order accountability and decency to the Guyanese society as a whole, especially with particular reference to the Minister of Finance’s stated zero tolerance for skullduggery and corruption. The need to rid this country of the scourge of widespread corruption and lawlessness cannot be over-emphasized. It must be completely eradicated if we are to progress as a people.
In this regard, I am extremely concerned about the state of cricket, our national game, and the evident laissez-faire approach towards the administration of the game by the previous administration.
Since 2009 there have been widespread charges of corruption, financial impropriety, visa scams, illegal electoral practices, administrative lawlessness and even criminal attacks such as dousing an executive member of the GCB with acid. These acts have been underpinned by discriminatory practices that seriously impact negatively on our youths.
The results of this have been reflected in the poor results of our cricketers, both male and female, at all levels over the past five years, who have been finding it difficult to gain selection on West Indies teams at a time when West Indies cricket is itself at its most fragile state.
Amidst all the chaos and illegality a Cricket Administration Bill (CAB) was passed in April 2014 and enacted into law in August 2014 thereby paving the way for order, accountability, free and fair elections and full participation of all actors including Linden, which has been ignominiously omitted from our cricket landscape for over 15 years. Not a single youngster from the Upper Demerara Region of Linden has been even considered for selection in any of our teams for over 15 years, and despite the enactment of the law, they are still being ignored.
The act was challenged by the very instigators of the problems, with the sole intention of using the courts to maintain total control of our cricket, ignoring the disastrous consequences their actions have been causing to the development of the game, whilst negatively affecting the future of at least 100,000 youths across the country.
It is against this background that I implore the government to urgently address the cricket crisis even though their hands are filled with other important investigations of corruption for it is my understanding that the CAB is designed to restore order, decency, accountability and free and fair elections to our fractious cricket climate. It is apposite to note that in international football there are unprecedented activities to bring to justice officials who have engaged in corruption and lawlessness, while on the local scene, FIFA has initiated moves to bring order and legality to Guyana football.
Again, while I applaud the government’s anti-corruption drive in other areas I prompt them to pursue with the same vigour the corruption in our cricket, especially since it is alleged that some of the leading members of the illegal GCB who prior to the elections were staunch supporters of the PPP/C have since established strong ties to the hierarchy of the Alliance For Change (AFC) which provides the support base for them to continue their control of our cricket.
In this new resolve transparency, democracy and justice must be pursued with fairness and fearlessness, irrespective of the relationship of the actors involved with the political directorate.
As a consequence the government must immediately ensure:
- That there is a thorough investigation of the Guyana Cricket Board operations since 2009 to date, including DCB, DCB Inc, DEB Essentials Inc, a private company that suddenly had its name changed to Cricket Guyana Inc, a façade designed to mislead the Guyanese public.
- The implementation of the Cricket Administration Act (CAA) to immediately correct the unlawful continuance of a group that is controlling our cricket, and the restoration of democracy through free and fair elections.
For the sake of our cricket, I implore the government to act urgently and decisively towards a final resolution of our cricket crisis.
Yours faithfully,
Claude Raphael
