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NSC was a one-man show
By Edison Jefford
The National Sports Commission (NSC) was described as a “one-man show” yesterday when the lid
Neil Kumar
blew off on the management of the organisation under the previous administration where Neil Kumar has been Director of Sport since the 1992 elections.
A well-placed source within the organisation told Kaieteur Sport yesterday that the NSC will not survive in its current administrative structure. Asked why there was no move to address these the last 23 years, the source said the head honcho shelved such attempts.
The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport is the umbrella ministry for the NSC which is made up of representatives from each affiliated sport association. Kumar had been accused of handpicking representatives for the Commission, which reduced its effectiveness.
“In the past, (NSC) has been operating as a one-man show. Even though you had a Commission, Neil Kumar made all the decisions, regardless of what anyone said,” the informant noted, adding that the Commission in its current form needs urgent restructuring.
Light is again being shed on the Sport Commission following a change of Government last week that is expected to have a direct effect on the organisation with a new Minister of Sport expected within the new Government. Kumar was adamant several times that he is a politician, despite the tenets of his office, which prescribes a non-partisan approach.
“The whole structure of NSC needs to be revamped, it needs to be examined, analysed and put in proper order where line Managers (or Coaches) can make decisions as it relate to their respective sections,” the source told this newspaper exclusively.
“Neil Kumar wants to be in charge of everything. If somebody wants to simply visit a school, he has to say yes or no, that should not be,” the source posited, adding that the present Commission does not bear any semblance of a National Sports Commission.
“We got to look at our administrative structure and that is because we are nowhere near what we should be as a Sports Department, in terms of composition,” the individual continued. Kumar has not gone to the NSC Homestretch Avenue Office for the week.
The source said that Kumar was reminded on Monday that he is still the Director of Sport after it was alleged several items from the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall had gone missing from a room the Director of Sport controlled at that indoor facility.
Asked to confirm the occurrence, the individual informed that what is known is that there were a lot of sports items either bought or donated to the NSC over time that were left to dry-rot instead of being handed out to the respective associations or athletes.
The individual stated that a report of forced entry into the facility was made at East La Penitence Police Station. Up until yesterday, the source indicated that they had stopped all activity pending an investigation at the facility to protect all stakeholders.
According to the source, the Commission had never had a problem with funding, but rather how these monies were spent was the issue. “Cricket can’t get what they want, and you do not do the same for football,” the individual indicated, after stating that money for the Sports Department is budgeted for under the broad annual allocation for Sports.
As a result, the informant noted that it would be difficult to trace what was spent in which area if a complete forensic audit is not done. The source could not confirm if, as reports stated, financial records had gone missing from the Homestretch Office.
Asked about the way forward, this newspaper was told that the NSC Act needs to be enforced. “We need to have the NSC Act enforced whoever is the Commission, or Director of Sport; it must be followed to the ‘T’,” the internal informant believes.
“Importantly in that (NSC Act) is that the Director of Sport is not the boss… the Director of Sport is an employee of the NSC, as clearly specified in the Act. Then, there is the issue of staffing that will include Coaches for all disciplines,” the source added.
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