Friendly Societies regulators meet GCB Tuesday

Feb 03, 2011 Sports

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Keith Foster

Chetram Singh

Bissoon Singh

GCB receives endorsement letter from 7 executives

By Sean Devers

President of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Chetram Singh informed yesterday that his Board is scheduled to meet with the Friendly Societies regulators on Tuesday to discuss a number of things including the GCB Membership.
The GCB head for the past 19 years also confirmed receiving a letter signed by seven of the 13 Executives endorsing the Bissoon Singh-led Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) over the Raj Singh-led DCB as the legally installed DCB. He said the letter will be discussed at the next GCB meeting next week.
Tuesday’s meeting with the Friendly Societies Act, which falls under the Ministry of Labour Human Services & Social Security, should determine the new date for the GCB Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Elections which was originally fixed for January 30. Singh explained that establishing which of the two DCB factions is critical to Guyana’s cricket moving forward and had said that a vote could have been an option at the GCB’s next meeting or calling a DCB re-election.
However, while some of Bissoon Singh supporters claim that since the majority of the executives have signed in support of the Bissoon Singh faction, that faction should be declared the official DCB by Chetram Singh, the GCB head says it is not so simple and said yesterday that a decision on the DCB should be arrived at the next GCB executive meeting next week Friday.
He also said that Tuesday’s meeting with the Friendly Society Act could play a pivotal role in what transpires at the Board’s next meeting.
The Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) has publicly given its full (all 9 votes) to Ramsay Ali in the GCB Presidential race while it is believed that Bish Panday has the bulk of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) votes.
The BCB has now thrown its support behind the Bissoon Singh faction by describing him as the ‘President of the Demerara Cricket Board’ in an official press release, although according to Chetram Singh, the legality of the feuding DCB factions is still not settled.
Coach Michael ‘Hyles’ Franco, Guyana senior team Manager Carl Moore and BCB President Keith Foster are the GCB executives from Berbice who are now publicly supporting the Bissoon Singh faction by signing the letter which was sent to the Media and which was received by the GCB President on Tuesday.
Bissoon Singh, Ronald Williams, Claude Raphael and Pretipaul Jaigobin (who has returned to the Cricket Board battles after his hospitalization due to last year’s acid throwing incident) are the Demerara GCB Executives who signed in support of Bissoon Singh.
While they are yet to publicly state their position on the DCB issue it is understood that the Essequibo Board is supporting the Raj Singh DCB faction.
While 12 of the 13 GCB executives are presently in Guyana, Moore is not expected home from Jamaica until Tuesday evening and it is believed that his vote could be the deciding factor in the DCB fracas. If voting is done without him the result could be 6-6 and the President’s casting vote could then decide the results either way.
Chetram Singh is confident that a problem free GCB Elections will be held soon and says the next step forward is Tuesday’s meeting with the Friendly Societies Act after that entity had put their Elections, planned for last month on hold.
The Registrar of Friendly Societies is duty bound to conduct or cause to be audited any society registered under the Friendly Societies Act Chapter 36:04 under the Laws of Guyana.
Donna Shortt-Gill, the PRO of Ministry of Labour, Human Services & Social Security explained that it is the responsibility of every society to submit to the registrar of friendly societies their annual returns, consisting of information such as receipts and payments, assets and liabilities, movement of membership, changes in trustees and testimonial of office bearers.
She said in the case of the Guyana Cricket Board, these were never submitted for 2009 and 2010. After the annual returns are submitted to the registrar, an auditor is appointed to audit the financial records and certify the annual returns.
“In the case of the Guyana Cricket Board, auditors were nevertheless appointed to audit the period December 1, 2009 to November 30, 2010. Upon completion, the auditors are required to submit to the registrar in accordance with their appointment copies of the completed audited financial report and the certified annual returns. “When audit reports and annual returns are submitted to the registrar they are processed and officially released before any legally constituted Annual General Meeting can be held, giving eight days notice for such a meeting,” Shortt-Gill had pointed out.
If there are no hiccups at Tuesday’s meeting, the GCB Elections could be held on February 20 and if the DCB status is still not ascertained, only Berbice and Essequibo could be allowed to vote at the GCB elections once at least 14 of the combined 18 delegates from those two counties are present.

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