This sports institution needs a change in leadership

Oct 03, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor;
As I continue my examination of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) President K Juman Yassin’s tenure in office, the more I’m convinced that a blanket change should be the order of the day come December when elections are due.
Just to clear up any misconception (s) that a few persons may have concerning my focus on the GOA President; I want to make it quite clear that my scrutiny is not personal, but exclusively to do with getting on with the development of sports in an effort to increasing our chances of doing well globally.
I have been encouraged by many to keep on plugging for a change in the personnel and operations of the GOA, an organisation that many are convinced can do much more for the development of sports in Guyana. I have been besieged by phone calls from many quarters asking for meetings to discuss what they know and what needs to be done to bring an end to the seemingly permanent status of Mr. Yassin.
I must say also, I have received calls by a few reminding me of some of the things that the President has done during the period and while I admit there were a few good deeds, the typical end to the conversations would be, “I think it is time he goes, he has been there a long time”.
It is simple, whenever an Administrator reigns for a long time, especially those who fail to achieve or inspire, they should not expect sentiments to be kind or in their favour; it is basically the way the human mind operates.
With so many tools at his disposal through the Olympic Solidarity Programme, the forging of alliances with other successful nations for expertise at both the practical and administrative levels, Yassin will be hard-pressed to list what I would term noteworthy achievements with any consistency. Just to give a recent example, I attended an Anti-Doping session organised for the media by the GOA and the low turnout appeared to be pinpointing the disappointment the media feels about the organisation’s languid performance under Yassin’s stewardship.
There are too many gaps in getting assistance from the GOA, while consultation with many of my colleagues – both within my organisation and outside – overwhelmingly corroborate the suspicion of a high level of secrecy related to the workings of the institution.
Just for emphasis, Sports is serious business and to underline how serious it is just look at the exploits of Jamaica’s athletes and you will get the real picture of its importance to a country. Jamaica, one of the most beautiful countries in the Caribbean, unfortunately happens to have a very high murder rate and quite a few hypotheses have been bandied about as to the cause of such with the poor state of the economy, despair among the youths which makes them susceptible to crime, being at the top of the list.
However, these days, while crime remains a serious issue on the island, the achievements of their athletes have clearly overshadowed the negatives, serving as a stunning example the power of sports that has evidently altered the image of Jamaica internationally.
The crime statistics are real, but what is also real is the fact that it is no longer the central theme of discussion about the Caribbean island, Usain Bolt and all the other outstanding sportsmen and women are.
I would urge the eligible sporting personalities to participate in the upcoming election process because quite a few persons in this country are eminently qualified to run for the Presidency and I’m hoping that full information is forthcoming so that interested candidates could be duly informed.
Rawle Welch

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