-GCF President Burrowes issues warnings
By Michaelangelo Jacobus
The Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF), the nation’s governing body for cycling, is in disarray following a series of internal disputes that have seen it fail to meet the quorum at a General Council level.
The turmoil was ignited by the resignation of former Vice President Nigel London after his controversial remarks about racism during a Facebook live broadcast following the conclusion of the Caribbean Elite Cycling Championships which were held here in Guyana.
London, who resigned in November, stated in his resignation letter that his departure was prompted by what he described as preferential treatment afforded to cultural events like Diwali motorcades over the Caribbean Championship. His comments, which accused Guyanese authorities of discrimination against African Guyanese in culture and sport, sparked widespread debate and drew criticism on social media.
London’s comments saw a swift response from members of the GCF executive, including General Secretary Mark St. Claire, Assistant Treasurer Maria Leung, and Vice President Dr. Hector Edwards. In public statements, these officials distanced themselves from London’s views, emphasizing that his remarks did not reflect the federation’s stance.
In the wake of that occurrence, on a voice note shared via WhatsApp and acquired by Stabroek Sport, GCF President Horace Burrowes issued a stark warning to members of the federation’s executive. Burrowes accused certain members of undermining his authority and threatened to block their international travel on GCF business.
“I promise you this: for the four years that I will be here, you will not leave this country,” Burrowes declared in the message. He also expressed alignment with the views of London. Burrowes insisted that unless the executive cooperated with him, the federation would be “divided” and “dormant” under his leadership.
Since then, on December 23, the General Secretary, St. Claire wrote to regional and international cycling organizations—COPACI, the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), and the Caribbean Cycling Union (CCU)—highlighting the GCF’s inability to achieve a quorum for meetings. He described the current situation as a “governance vacuum” and called for an extraordinary meeting to address the issues.
St. Claire’s letter noted that the GCF constitution allows for the dissolution of the executive body under such circumstances. He also requested the GOA’s oversight to help restore proper governance.
Meanwhile, Burrowes countered with a letter of his own almost immediately after, accusing St. Claire of unethical behaviour and working to undermine his presidency. Burrowes listed a series of allegations against St. Claire.
Burrowes then announced his decision to remove St. Claire as General Secretary, claiming St. Claire’s actions had created divisions within the GCF. However, the GCF constitution does not grant the president unilateral authority to dismiss elected executive members.
St. Claire, for his part, has maintained that his actions were aimed at ensuring transparency and inclusivity within the federation. He has also proposed steps for resolving the crisis through constitutional means, including convening a General Council meeting.
With the federation already reeling from the resignation of key executives—including two vice presidents and the racing secretary—its ability to function effectively is crippled.
The ongoing conflict threatens the development of cycling in Guyana as the failure to meet the quorum, means that GCF’s representation at the upcoming COPACI (Pan-American Cycling Confederation) Congress, scheduled for February 25, 2025, in Panama City, Panama is under threat.
Traditionally, two representatives are selected from the executive to attend. However, as the General Council is inactive, the selection of those representatives had not been done as of the deadline on Friday night.
In the invitation seen by this publication, COPACI stated; “We hereby inform you that the COPACI Congress initially announced to be held on February 26, 2025 in Panama City, Panama, will be held on February 25, 2025 at the same venue instead”.
“Due to this change of date we inform all our National Federations that the deadline to send their candidatures is now until December 27, 2024 in order to comply with Article 14, Section 3 of the COPACI Statutes which indicates that the candidatures shall be sent ‘at least 60 days before the date of the Congress’, for this reason we urge the National Federations that wish to send candidatures and have not yet done so to take into account this change”.