Letter to the Sports Editor… Gov’t has destroyed sports throughout Guyana, supports Peeping Tom

Sep 03, 2011 Sports

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Dear Editor,
I have been reading with great interest the litany of articles appearing in all sections of the media regarding the speedy NATIONALIZATION OF CRICKET by the President of Guyana. I then made special efforts to obtain the Court Order that was issued by CJ Ian Chang and spoke to a few persons that attended the “consultations” held by the President.
I also read the Peeping Tom article alongside that of the Sports Minister published guidelines.
This entire episode reeks to high heaven and it is high time now that reputable people speak out against this abominable action by the highest office holder in this dear land of Guyana.
I feel compelled to bring some clarity to the general public as this issue is being obfuscated d in order to facilitate the hijacking of our premier sport in Guyana.
Firstly, the Angela Haniff vs. the Executives of the Guyana Cricket Board specifically deals with the issue of the legality of the elections of the GCB held on July 10th 2011.
The elections were the final item on the agenda for the GCB’s AGM and the said Haniff was present throughout this meeting with her President, Keith Foster, VP, David Black and Asst. Secretary, Carol Nurse. Only David Black remained during the elections item on the agenda along with the Essequibo delegates.
The Returning Officer, well-known legal eagle, Sanjeev Datadin, ruled that a quorum had been in existence, in accordance with the constitution of the GCB, and thus proceeded with the elections of office bearers and duly declared them elected thereafter.
Haniff’s affidavit to the court contained numerous inaccuracies and it was surely a surprise, possibly to even Ms Haniff that an ex parte injunction was granted to her stopping the new Executive from functioning and reinstalling the old Executive of the GCB.
This occurred during the middle of the regional under-19 tournament being administered by the GCB but caused little or no disruption as plans were already in place and the machinery was functioning smoothly.
The GCB Executives then applied to have this injunction discharged, which effectively reinstalled the elected body of July 10th. The exact wording of the 2 & 1/2 page Order (2 pages was the rubric of the matter & the preamble to the Order) specifically stated “IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AND DIRECTED that the Action herein No. 319-W, be and is hereby struck out and dismissed as being misconceived AND IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AND DIRECTED that there is no Order as to Costs.”
In support of his Order, the CJ carefully outlined his line of thought in arriving at his decision with the issuance of a 10 page ruling which the Sports Minister has extracted a few paragraphs to use as his authoritative guidelines and some other mischievous persons are clearly using to obfuscate or substitute this ruling as the actual ORDER issued by the CJ.
This should be a matter of perjury.  The Order is very clear and specific.
The President is also guilty of misusing the explanation of the CJ’s discharge as his authority to intervene in the operations of the GCB.
The GCB members and Executive need to stand up against this blatant misuse of power by Mr. Jagdeo. I have it on very high legal authority that THE CONCEPT OF LEGAL NON-ENTITIES RELATES TO THE CAPACITY TO INSTITUTE AND DEFEND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS ONLY.
This is the limb that the president is leaning on and it has wide ranging repercussions for all organizations. Peeping Tom is totally accurate when he says that the fact that an organization does not have legal personality does not make it illegal.
Some of the Executives present at these purported “consultations” were greeted with threats and ridicule to anything that they said. They were merely summoned for the photo op and the formality that they attended. The President would be well advised to back off from this most unpopular action as other sporting organizations are paying close attention to this development.
We have experienced the quality of the grounds that fall under the various NDCs and Local Authorities around the country and can visibly witness the decline in standards at all types of sports. These grounds are largely unkempt and whenever they are in fair shape, priority is given to social functions rather than for sports and the development of the youths in our communities.
This is a perfect example of how the role and function of the government in providing recreational facilities for our youths has played out.
Numerous new housing schemes are being introduced in various parts of the country with little or no planning for recreational facilities. More emphasis in being placed on the full allotment of house lots so as to maximize revenue for the government.
This is what government intervention and involvement has brought us.
All other unincorporated and unregistered organizations, similar to the GCB, and the private sector organizations including the political and nongovernmental organizations need to speak out against this dictatorial stance adopted by the President.
This action has far-reaching consequences for us all and may well be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Keith Thompson

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