Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Charles Ramson Jr., gave newly appointed Director of Sport (DoS), Steve Ninvalle a public vote of confidence yesterday following their first site visits to facilities being upgraded around the city.
The Minister along with Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Kashif Muhammad and Ninvalle hit the ground running, bringing the new DoS up to speed with ongoing works at the National Racquet Centre, the National Gymnasium and the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
During their visits, Ramson Jr., had the following to say about the former Member of Parliament and Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
“Steve is somebody that we have a lot of confidence in and we have a lot of expectations, and we know that sport is in a far better place now with the new Sports Commission and it’s also in a better place now with the new Director of Sport.”
The Commissioners of the new National Sports Commission were appointed on May 21 while Ninvalle was appointed Director of Sport by the Commission and Ramson Jr., Sunday.
Ramson Jr., added that the appointment of a meritorious DoS “Was so important, that it was at the level of the Cabinet and was within the interest of the President (Irfaan Ali) and Vice President ( Bharrat Jagdeo).”
The Minister then added that Ninvalle brings ‘credibility’ to the post.
“Steve is someone that is well known in the sporting fraternity. He is also well known in other fraternities including the media, but he has a very strong background in sports, so he comes with a lot of credibility and he also comes with a Public Management background.
“He was DPS at the ministry already and everybody knows the DPS is critical to the operation and management of any ministry. So he has got that long history of Public Management and institutional knowledge that he comes with.”
Meanwhile, Ramson Jr. disclosed that he wanted a ‘on the ground updating’ of the ongoing projects to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities to the new DoS.
“A few days ago, we had a full discussion of what our Ministry is, our overall policy, what our expectations are, what are our priorities, and then I had asked for the Director of Sport for us to have an on the ground updating of where our projects are.
“We have been doing quite a bit of projects since the new government has come into office and we don’t want there to be any slowdown in that progression and there should be a smooth transition.”
He added that his ministry will continue to support the operations, the programmes, the projects and to ensure that the overall policy of the government is implemented “so that it meets the needs of the people especially young people who are interested in playing sports and fulfilling a pathway where they can see they have a career in sports.”
Ninvalle then thanked Muhammad and Ramson Jr., for guiding him through the process with a hands on approach. He further reiterated that it will take a total team effort for the mandates to succeed.
“I feel confident in the chairman and the minister and the members of the commission. There is a lot of work to be done, but I feel if we buckle down and if we focus, we will be able to carry out the mandates that we have” Ninvalle opined.
