Latest update April 8th, 2025 7:13 AM
Letter to the Sports Editor…Robin Singh maintains objection to CPL Subsidy
Dear Editor,
A mere three days ago (published in Kaieteur newspapers 16th April, 2016) I wrote to express my strong objection to a Hundred Million Dollar subsidy of the Caribbean Premiere League and its cartel of Billionaire owners, I leave to your imagination my reaction to finding out that instead of that now seemingly paltry sum, our Government has instead agreed to pay subsidies in excess of One Billion dollars to the CPL!
This cannot be part of the Good Life for All espoused by our President, One Billion dollars spent on sport can indeed have a massive impact on the quality of life of our nation’s youth, we can put basketball hoops and supply balls to all schools, cricket coaching kits can be supplied, volleyballs, footballs, baseballs, badminton shuttles, cleats, sneakers, uniforms, it boggles the mind that a government can show such callous disregard for its youth, recently at the track meet at Leonora, many athletes could be seen running barefoot or with sneakers, very few had running spikes, how many villages have little or no sport equipment?
Sport and school fields are uncut due to lack of availability of tractors and slashers in all regions of Guyana, the cost of equipping all regions would not exceed 60 Million, yet we are set to pay members of the Billionaire club a Billion dollars (1,000,000,000)for the ‘right’ to host three Cricket matches.
If the fans of CPL cricket really want matches in Guyana, they must be prepared to pay higher ticket prices, the subsidy of the Billionaire playboy club cannot come at the expense of our nation’s youth and the taxpayers hard earned dollar, I ask that we be spared any hocus-pocus explanations of ‘benefits’ that would include possible tourism benefits and the old ‘putting us on the map’, Guyana is firmly on the tourism map, our policy is to target the eco-market, a very small segment for which we have very limited carrying capacity.
There are 18 Organizations for sport governance in Guyana; they fall under the Umbrella of the Guyana Olympic Association, now that I know such funding is available for sport, I urge the member organizations to fight for the rights of the youth of Guyana to play organized sport, to be given access to sporting equipment free of charge, to sports programmes in schools and the multitude of other needs.
In closing I urge my fellow sport administrators to join me in speaking out against this atrocity being perpetrated on our youth. “So it falls to all of us to take action. We have to ask ourselves if we do nothing, where does all of this end? I know it’s a hell of a challenge, but ask yourselves if not us, who, if not now, when? …Ronald Reagan.
Robin Singh
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