Vice President (ag) of the East Coast Cricket Committee (ECCC) Lalta Gainda says an acceptable resolution to the cricking debacle in Guyana must be initiated through the office of the Cricket Ombudsman as stipulated in the Cricket Administration Act.
Gainda’s comments to this publication came days after the Act was restored by the Court of Appeal, paving the way for the holding of elections at the Demerara and Guyana Cricket Board level.
“I would also like to use this opportunity to ask the sports governing body of our country to tell us what is the purpose of the Ombudsman, if not to verify the clubs and supervise the elections on the East Coast,” said Gainda.
“Are we to expect an election of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) without one on the East Coast?” he asked.
“This charade on the East Coast must stop,” he added.
The Ombudsman, according to the Cricket Administration Act, is tasked with the responsibility of verifying the clubs that fall under the aegis of the various county boards, (Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo) which comprise the Guyana Cricket Board.
The focus, in this instance, is primarily using the office of the Ombudsman to create a clear solution to the infraction in Demerara. East Coast, like many of the area boards, is fractured as it relates to who the legitimate officer holders are to organise cricket and who will be the officials to vote at any future DCB elections.
Guyana is currently without an Ombudsman after High Court Judge Justice Fidela Corbin in February this year quashed the appointment of Stephen Lewis.
Lewis was initially appointed as the Cricket Ombudsman in May 2018 by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) but his appointment was challenged in the High Court by the Berbice Cricket Board.
However, Lewis, an attorney by profession, was reappointed to the post by the then Minister with responsibility for Sports, Dr George Norton in March 2019 under section 17 of the Act but his appointment was challenged on the grounds that it was illegal.
“It is my opinion and belief that there must be no DCB election until the amicable resolution of East Coast Cricket, aided by the overview of the state-appointed Ombudsman, as prescribed by the Cricket Administration Act, said Gainda.
