The imminent Guyana Amateur Boxing Association elections

Jan 11, 2009 Sports

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Something stinks to high heaven!!!

By Michael Benjamin
Ever since Affeeze Khan assumed the office of President of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA), his unique touch seems to have transformed the fraternity from a sleeping giant to a more vibrant and productive unit.
Khan has brought a wealth of administrative experience, procured during an illustrious career as a shrewd insurance agent, to the sport, and from all appearances, his techniques has produced dividends. Yet amidst such accolades, the dissenting voices of key boxing administrators seem to suggest that the situation is not as ‘hunky dory’ as the Khan would have the Guyanese public to believe.
It is important to indicate from the inception of this discussion that when Khan assumed office, GABA was in deep crisis, in desperate need of shrewd and effective management. This was after former Commissioner of Police Laurie Lewis inexplicably demitted office before the expiration of his mandate.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, George Vyphius, who at that time performed the duties of Secretary, had followed his boss’ lead, thus deepening the crisis in the executive structure of GABA. The decapitated GABA eventually collapsed plunging the fraternity into deep crisis.
Appeals by the boxers to Lewis and company fell on deaf ears and boxing activities grounded to a halt. After a prolonged period of inactivity, laced with frustration, a group led by former national coach, Lennox Daniels, managed to persuade Guyana Defence Force Captain Marcus Ross to take over the helm. He was duly elected.
President of the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA), Claude Blackmoore, performed the duties of the returning officer. I was elected as the first Vice President. The ink had scarcely dried on the document before the dissenting voices of the influential vociferously denounced the installation of the new executive body and forced Mr K A Juman Yassin to intervene.
At the end of the process, Captain Ross rescinded his appointment citing increased pressure from his military bosses. The other elected members followed his cue and before long GABA was back in crisis.
Attorney-at-Law, Bernard DosSantos, then the Attorney General, acquiesced to a request from Yassin to take over the helm of GABA, a decision that should have ameliorated the situation. It turned out that such was not the case! DosSantos merely occupied the position but obviously, severe work commitments precluded him from making a viable contribution. He eventually relinquished the position. The concomitant result was the sport’s return to an unacceptable status quo.
Yassin then assumed a hands-on approach and accepted a nomination and subsequent election into office. He seemed to be the refreshing change needed to revamp the beleaguered GABA.
He served one term before falling victim to the demonic force that somehow managed to strangle the developmental process of the fistic sport. At the subsequent meeting to elect office bearers Yassin seemed set to contest for the Presidency when on the very morning of elections he suddenly experienced a change of heart and declined nomination.
What followed afterwards can best be described as comedic. The very Laurie Lewis, who had earlier demitted office and refused to acquiesce to a request to rethink his stand, returned and was re-elected to the helm.
Only this time he was a private citizen and, therefore, devoid of the influence and resources that was available to him in his initial tenure when he held the influential position of Commissioner of Police. It, therefore, came as no surprise that he was unable to replicate the level of vibrancy exhibited during his previous tenure.
Naturally, the amateur boxers felt the brunt of the negative turn of events as, the sport that had procured yeoman accolades for Guyana was once again plunged into crises.
The gyms (and there were just a handful) became non-functional, tournaments disappeared and a drive to resuscitate a competitive spirit among the regular members, dissipated. This was the sordid situation when Afeeze Khan accepted a request by Keith Campbell and subsequent endorsement of the other stakeholders to attain the helm and lead the beleaguered GABA into the 21st century.
Today, even as elections loom, a large percentage of the membership is apparently dissatisfied with Khan’s style of leadership and are anxious to vote him out of office. Apparently, Khan is not yet ready to relinquish his post and is currently waging a relentless battle to continue at the helm.
During Khan’s watch, several important persons within the organisation were either unconstitutionally removed, or opted to tender their resignation after confrontations with Khan. Keith Campbell, the very person that had suggested Khan’s installation became his first casualty. At that time, Campbell was serving an elected position of Secretary/treasurer.
Shortly afterwards, upon the resignation of Harlington Smith he was appointed Secretary. The outspoken Campbell dared to question what he perceived to be high-handed approaches to issues by Khan. According to Campbell, Khan had unilaterally decided to redesign the GABA letterhead while insisting that all correspondence should be sent to his home.
Campbell felt that this was in contravention of article 8 of the constitution under the heading ‘Officers’ which clearly reposes such responsibilities to the Secretary. Instead of conforming to protocol, Khan orchestrated Campbell’s removal by dint of a no confidence vote.
Dexter Patterson was next on the list. He was the elected treasurer of GABA until Khan tabled a no confidence motion against him. His sin was to demand a report of the $600,000 grant received from the Sports Ministry to facilitate local amateur boxers’ participation to the Caribbean Amateur Boxing tournament in Trinidad and Tobago.
Article 9, under the sub heading ‘Officers’ clearly reposes responsibility of all financial matters to the treasurer, yet Khan has unilaterally undertaken such responsibilities.
Eustace Cuffy, the former first Vice President was unhappy over the way Afeeze Khan usurped the functions of the treasurer so he voiced his concerns.
By now, you can guess what happened to him. Cuffy said that Khan did everything within his powers to frustrate him in the carrying out his elected duties. He said that his only sin was to voice his concern over the financial situation and to seek explanations where there were gaping holes in financial reports presented by Khan. He eventually succumbed to the intense pressure, became frustrated and tendered his resignation.
Keith French was also a Vice President. About one month ago, he informed me that he was disgusted over the way Khan was handling the Association’s affairs so he opted to resign.
After Khan managed to degut the elected officials, he replaced them with several handpicked personnel. Otis Van Lewin replaced Campbell; Ravendra Ketwaru was Patterson’s replacement, while up to the time of writing this article French’s portfolio remained vacant.
With General Elections looming Khan, recognizing that he has lost the confidence of a wide majority of the executives decided to offer the proverbial counter-punch. He reportedly convened a secret meeting with a few of his trusted lieutenants and hatched up a plan to railroad the upcoming general elections.
It seems as though he has chosen a slate of individuals that he feels are loyal to him. This list reads: Rudolph Torrington (1st Vice President), Keith Lewis (2nd Vice President), Keith French (3rd Vice President), Otis Van Lewin (Secretary) and Ravendra Ketwaru (Treasurer). His proposed committee members are: Clifton Moore, Terrence Poole and an individual from the newly constructed Sophia Gym named Laurie Lewis.
Khan also suggested that Carl Franklyn and Evan Parris be retained as the national coaches.
Kaieteur Sport was reliably informed that Khan had beseeched those at the meeting to adopt his slate en bloc and subsequently pronounce him the elected president of GABA with the other members of the slate assuming their respective positions.  Here again Khan has attempted to breach article 11 of the constitution.
I subsequently confronted Khan with the allegations. He attempted to offset my thoughts with other irrelevant matters but I stood firm and demanded an answer.
He eventually crumbled and admitted that my informant was correct.
I pointed out the unconstitutionality of his approach and he informed me that as a member of the Lion’s organisation he has learnt that it is always better to surround one’s self with trusted soldiers.
I next asked Khan to explain the expulsion of the members of the executive committee. He angrily advised me to speak with the disciplinary committee. I pressed on for an answer but by then Khan, his face contorted in anger, stormed out of the meeting. In so doing, he has left many gaping holes and unanswered questions. This is the person who wishes to persuade the electorate for a second term.
The future of amateur boxers lies in the outcome of the next Annual General Meeting. I believe that the gyms reserve the right to choose their leader. However, they must carefully give thought to their choice.
There must also be a system of checks and balances that at least gives local boxers some control over the way their affairs are being conducted.
This must be done before they elect a new president. Otherwise, boxers must not complain when they are shortchanged after installing their choice.
I also hope that the President of the Guyana Olympic Association, K A Juman Yassin, Secretary of the GOA, Ivor O’Brian, Director of Youth and Sports, Neil Kumar and Minister of Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, are paying rapt attention and demand some amount of accountability. It is imperative because something stinks to high heaven and the smell is nauseating!

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