PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Cricket West Indies chief, Ricky Skerritt, has assured the region that presidential term limits are still on the cards and will be addressed once the Wehby Governance report is submitted within the next month.
Skerritt, who assumed the top CWI post exactly a year ago along with vice-president, Dr Kishore Shallow, had proposed a six-year term limit on the presidency as part of their recommendation for governance reform.
And the CWI president said he expected that issue to be dealt with shortly when Jamaican businessman Don Wehby completed his report.
“You will be hearing hopefully in another month or so of the Wehby Governance report,” Skerritt told CNC3’s The Morning Shot programme.
“There have been many governance reports in the past but this one being led by Don Wehby and four other wise colleagues of his, should be coming forward to Cricket West Indies, at least in its first part, within the next month.
“By the time that makes its rounds and gets accepted either in whole or in part, we will have an element in there that speaks to term limits.”
Wehby was last April named to lead a Task Force on Corporate Governance Reform, charged with the responsibility of examining the CWI structure in order “to achieve greater transparency and accountability to shareholders” in the regional governing body.
The task force includes University of West Indies vice-chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Charles Wilkin QC of St. Kitts and Nevis, Jamaican businessman OK Melhado and former West Indies vice-captain, Deryck Murray.
Skerritt and Shallow have contended that term limits to the presidency removed “uncertainty and anxiety caused by the cricket politics and excesses that too often surround the office of president”.
The area of governance is the latest to be tackled by the new administration following a year which saw an overhaul of the selection process and a change of men’s white ball captain and management team.
Skerritt, a former St Kitts and Nevis cabinet minister, said his administration were focussed squarely on continuing to implement its agenda over the next several months.
“We’re very focussed, very committed to making progress on all fronts, trying everything we could to bring improvement in the way we do business,” he stressed.
“We’re trying to make it a more productive and efficient organisation and trying to get some financial sustainability, and trying to get enthusiasm and optimism up in the stakeholder groups and especially the players.”
While the Skerritt administration has come under fire for several of its decisions, he said he was still enjoying the role as president.
“I always enjoy cricket. I enjoy doing whatever I can and whatever I can to bring support and resources to cricket,” he pointed out.
“Cricket has been my life as a hobby and now in a very responsible position as chairman. The stress has been there but we’ve managed it fairly well.”
