Attorney-at-law Arudranauth Gossai believes the administrative staff of the Guyana Cricket Board still needs to function as per normal since the recent court ruling only applies to the GCB executives.
The High Court on Wednesday ruled that the 2018 elections where Fizul Bacchus was elected President and Anand Sanasie, Secretary was null and void and of no effect and that those persons cannot hold themselves out to be office bearers or to do anything as it relates to the operations of the GCB.
Gossai, who represented the plaintiffs, the Berbice Cricket Board and its Secretary, Rubindranauth Saywack in the matter explained that it is only the executives who have been barred from handling the affairs of the GCB.
The former St. Kitts and Nevis Director of Public Prosecution told Stabroek Sport that the ruling…. “doesn’t affect cricket, it affects those persons who are holding themselves out as executive members of the GCB but it doesn’t prevent anything from going on.
“The administrative office can still continue to function. There are employees, and they are not elected members.”
Stabroek Sport understands that the Inter-County Under-17 tournament was expected to start yesterday but has since been shelved until further notice while those close to the National Under-15 team and female Under-19 teams remain lost as to the direction of the their participation in the Regional tournaments.
Quizzed on the ripple effects of the ruling as it relates to payments and the academy, Gossai acknowledged that he is not privy to the information regarding the internal affairs of the body in terms of who signs off cheques and so on.
Asked if an interim body can be installed Gossai said: “There is no such provision in the law for an interim body to be installed to handle the functions of the GCB.”
He did but indicate, however, that the current position is that cricket will continue and the executive officers will have to be elected as soon as possible.
In 2011, then President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo and Minister of Sport, Frank Anthony had set up an Interim Management Committee (IMC) to run the day-to-day affairs of cricket in Guyana with the respective minister heading the body.
The 2011 decision was made on the suggestion by then acting Chief Justice, Ian Chang S.C. in an injunction filed against the GCB.
Gossai noted that there was no date set by the court for elections but Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr George Norton had set a January, 2020 date for the holding of GCB elections.
When contacted on the issue, Norton indicated that the he was in the interior and could not answer any question but had promised to do so yesterday.
However, former vice-president of the GCB, Bissondyal Singh agreed with Gossai and explained that Administrator, Savatri Persaud would be capable of handling the affairs of cricket.
Singh noted that Persaud has over two decades of direct administration of cricket in Guyana and would be the ideal candidate to work along with, what he suggested to be a Cricket West Indies management team to handle the business of Guyana’s cricket.
Singh said no former executive could order the tournaments to be halted and pointed out that Cricket West Indies regional tournaments can still be hosted in Guyana.
