Is this a case of biasness?

Sep 13, 2010 Sports

The substantial financial infusion some disciplines received from the Government recently gives one the impression that officialdom has decided to bestow special consideration for the development of sports.
In addition to the monetary injection, the Government’s efforts to construct new facilities are all welcoming signs that it has finally come to the realisation that Sport could become one of the pillars for economic expansion.
The construction of an Olympic-size swimming pool, squash courts and tennis facility, all bore evidence of Government’s shift in focus.
However, a recent example of an uncaring attitude exhibited by an official(s) attached to the National Sports Commission (NSC) pertaining to the use of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) if not discouraged could undermine whatever progress was made and cause for suspicion of selective preference to re-surface.
The issue in reference is the Tradewind Tankers ‘True Champions’ Volleyball Tournament which started a few months ago and has reached the semi-final stages that was to be played on Saturday last at the above mentioned venue.
According to the organisers, the venue was booked in advance and they received confirmation that they had satisfied all the criteria needed for permission to be granted for its use. This tournament was organised to help revive the sport which has been in a comatose state for sometime now.
Members of the Castrol Strikers Club in collaboration with GuyOil by some means managed to convince the eventual sponsor to plug money into the event that brought together teams from West Demerara, Georgetown and Berbice. The preliminary rounds were played on the West Demerara and in Berbice respectively and as arranged the semi-finals and final were scheduled for Georgetown at the CASH.
A member of the Organising Committee speaking with Kaieteur Sport disclosed that he received word from a high ranking officer of the NSC indicating that the venue was no longer available due to the fact that members of the basketball squad preparing for the upcoming Inter-Guianas Games slated for November were booked to conduct three sessions for the day and no time was allotted to them thereby placing the possibility of play on Saturday in jeopardy.
After being told of the new development, several attempts were made to clarify the matter, but after repeated calls to several officials attached to the Ministry of Sport and the NSC, the situation remained the same, forcing the organisers to postpone the day’s activity to a date to be announced.
This recent development brings into question the seriousness among certain officials, who claim to be on the ‘Sport Development Bandwagon’, but their actions indicate otherwise and secondly, who is really in-charge for issuing permission for the use of the national facility.
Repeatedly, it is said that all national facilities are open for the use by athletes and sports organisations providing that they apply in good time and satisfy the criteria outlined for their use, but on many occasions that is not the case.
Very often complaints about the blatant misuse of power by officials in charge of those facilities as well as the exorbitant fees charged for their use are made, but there seems to be no change in attitude and this could very well be because of the absence of a proper system.
The official related that he was told by a high ranking member of the NSC to go and ask the Coach of the junior basketball squad for permission to use the facility in question.
Now how could that be when the Coach is not the one to issue such permission for the use of CASH?
Then there is the charge of different fees for certain individuals and organisations and this could only happen if a record of accountability is nonexistent.
There is a real perception that the higher powers that be are oblivious to the day to day management of the NSC and other Governmental organisations, and perhaps a closer examination is needed now to save all the good work that was done lately.
President Bharrat Jagdeo has made some encouraging disbursements to a few sports organisations recently and his munificence signalled a new dispensation by the Government, but a few bad apples could undo all of that if not railed in.
In the interest of the development of sport and taking into consideration that the semi-finals was two games to start from 18:00 hrs until 21:00 hrs, the question that must be asked is how much harm could that have done to a team preparing for a tournament in November.
It seems a clear case of biasness.

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Is this a case of biasness?

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