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Acid attack an eye-opener for Guyanese cricket official
Jaigobin still interested in serving Guyana’s cricket
After
Pretipaul Jaigobin before and after the dastardly attack.
By Sean Devers
A gruesome acid attack on 43-year-old Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Assistant Treasurer Pretipaul Jaigobin last May has changed his life forever.
But despite his badly burnt face, damaged neck which requires surgery and a right eye that cannot close, the Clonbrook East Coast Demerara resident intends to leave his perpetrator(s) in the hands of God and not pursue the matter legally.
“I have my suspicions on who was behind this but since I don’t know for sure and did not recognize the person who threw the acid…. and also for security reasons…. my family and I have decided to let the matter rest. God is in charge and he will ensure justice is served,” Jaigobin, who works at the National Authorisation Office (NAO) in Guyana’s Ministry of Finance, told Kaieteur Sport.
Married for 18 years, Jaigobin has a 16 year-old son who plays competitive cricket and an 11-year-old daughter. He was very outspoken at GCB meetings and on several occasions voiced concerns about the finances of the Board since he became an executive member two years ago.
The NAO monitors European Union funded projects for the Guyana Government and Jaigobin, who returned to work last month after four-mouths of sick leave, said if suspicion that the attack on his life was cricket-related is ever proven true, he will be very hurt since his only reason for getting involved in cricket as an Administrator was to assist in its development.
“As Treasurer of the Demerara Board I was ambitious for upward mobility and wanted to make a difference in Guyana’s cricket when I took up the position of Assistant Treasurer of the GCB. As an Accountant I always ensure there is transparency and this was not so in the GCB. I will not be silent and condone corruption so I questioned financial statements on the GCB. It seems all was not well for a long time but very few people were man enough to speak out….maybe because of the benefits they might have been getting,” Jaigobin explained.
Jaigobin is still not fully recovered from the burns on his face and has to undergo a neck surgery after his next medical examination on November 4.
He says that although he has been advised to relinquish all ties with cricket administration, he has not resigned his position and will see what happens after January’s GCB elections since he is still interested in serving Guyana’s cricket.
The acid attack which took place at an East Coast Restaurant on May 25 has been an eye opener (literally) for Jaigobin since his right eye cannot close and he has to sleep with a black patch over it.
“I cannot work with some of the people on the Board and while this whole episode has been very frustrating for me, I have not ruled out making myself available again if there are changes in the Board’s executives after the next elections, he said.
He said that his family has been the strength behind his recovery and proudly stated that during the time he was hospitalized his son wrote his CXC exams and gained 2 ones and 4 twos and is now attending the University of Guyana (UG) and is also working towards representing the institution as a leg-spinner in his efforts to become a well-rounded individual.
I can’t work in a group where you can’t express yourself. When I work at an organisation and I look at myself, I want to see a reflection of everybody and that means people must know what is going on and must be a part of that process,” Jaigobin added.
Jaigobin said he has repeatedly argued for funds for the cricketers’ development when those same funds are sometimes used for other things.
“The actual cricket seems secondary to many Board members who just want to show who is in charge and our cricket is at its lowest right now. I would advocate that in any Organization or Sporting entity, character checks be done on all members before they are appointed since persons who represent these bodies are the image of those organisations,” Jaigobin opined.
He said that he cannot support people with questionable characters and says if such people are allowed to the forefront of national sporting bodies then the sport itself will suffer.
“When I got involved with the GCB I did not know what type of people I was dealing with but if I had done a character check I would probably have not gotten involved,” Jaigobin said.
He stressed that in his NAO work he has dealings with projects of more significance and magnitude than that of the GCB and he has never encountered such an incident.
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