Director of Sports Christopher Jones said yesterday the National Sports Commission (NSC) is committed to providing grants to all sports associations once they are properly structured and possess a long-term developmental plan for their respective disciplines.
“The NSC has a responsibility to award grants to associations, clubs etc., but, of course, the awarding of such grants have to be based on something, we cannot just allocate government resources and tax payers funds to associations just on the basis of them being an association,” Jones said yesterday while addressing members of the media at his office on Homestretch Avenue.
“That is why you hear me overtime speaking about their own Strategic Development Plans (SDP) for their respective disciplines. Of course it has to speak to the long term development of, not only the discipline, but the athletes themselves.
“If they can tell us two-three years after they would have initiated their Strategic Development Plan, they can say that 10 or 15 of their respective athletes would have received scholarships, that is what we want to see,” he added.
“Of course, you must speak about accountability, they must be accountability. We also want to see the process that was used to identify their leaders, how were they elected?
“As you know we have a situation with the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) for example, and, of course we have to ensure that all other associations are above board and that their membership supports their executive.That their membership sees their executive as being legally elected; that the membership sees their executive as being accountable and transparent; having a bank account and if, once a year there is audited financial statements; that they have a Strategic Development Plan for their discipline and sportsmen and women in the country.”
Association grants
According to Jones, the Guyana Government was not averse to providing funding for the associations once the conditions were met.
“The NSC and the Government of Guyana will have no reservation with making grants of significant amounts available to these associations based on their Strategic Development Plan,” said Jones adding that this position was based on the local and international fronts for all disciplines.
Asked if the construction of a football stadium is a project that will be supported by the NSC, Jones said:”I know that Guyana Football Federation (GFF) through the FIFA Goal Project, they would have been pursuing a Goal Project which would see a football stadium so to speak being erected at Providence. From all indications and the media release I saw recently by President Forde (Wayne), plans are afoot as it relates to that.
“Further to that is the second Goal Project, should see the erection of a similar facility in the mining town of Linden. I personally got involved with the Interim Management Committee (IMC) Chairman at that time, Mr. Urling (Clinton) and of course, the Region 10 Regional Democratic Council Chairman.
“We have since gotten the approval from government for the land they would have identified for that purpose in Linden. As to the process in terms of the funding to start the work, I don’t know what phase that is.”
Questioned if the establishment of a High Performance Centre is on the agenda of the NSC, Jones said, “As you aware Mr. Ivan Persaud is the Chairman of the National Sports Commission and that proposal has been brought to the attention of the commission. However, the view is that it should not be specifically to one discipline but rather to multiple disciplines.
“Government is open to having such a facility erected. In fact, if you refer to the APNU/AFC manifesto, it speaks specifically to having such a facility erected. Government is ready and willing. One, the National Sports Commission can submit to government, its Strategic Development Plan as it relates to the establishment of such a facility. Government is prepared to fund it.”
Quizzed about the NSC’s plans for the reintroduction of sports in the schools, Jones said, “In this year we will see the reintegration of lawn tennis and table tennis in the schools curriculum. Last year, the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) took the lead on behalf of government to meet with several association to get their strategic development for the various disciplines.”
“And of course the lawn and table tennis were out in front. They have Strategic Development Plans that we have seen for several years. In terms of their structure to reach the length and breadth of the country, those two have been identified and of this year, January and February, we will see the rolling out of lawn and table tennis in the schools curriculum.
“I can tell you of December, containers were packed with the equipment and so forth to be shipped to Guyana to facilitate same. The GOA and government again will meet with a few other associations throughout this year, who will then indicate to us if they have the capacity to do the same and, of course, we will lend support to have those disciplines integrated into the schools curriculum as well,” Jones added.
