Beharry disappointed with condition of LBI facility

Dec 07, 2021 Sports

Wants everyone to come on board to fund refurbishing programme…

By Sean Devers

Kaieteur News – Technocrat member Anil Beharry is the Chairman of the Committee that is in charge of the LBI facility on the East Coast and he disclosed that major work will soon commence there.

GCB Treasurer Brain Sukhai

Beharry was speaking at the first press conference held by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) since April 2021 when they won the first legal Elections in a decade.
“The outfield has too much sand which impedes the growth of grass but it has improved slightly but it’s far from acceptable standards. We did some rolling of the ground, added some dirt and planted some grass. We at the GCB will continue to work, and we engaged the Minister of Agriculture to seek assistance.”
Equipped with floodlights which requires a bit of upgrading, the GCB’s aim is, when fully completed, to have the LBI facility compete with the Guyana National Stadium to host first-class matches.
“The electrical wiring was deemed a fire hazard and electrical works have commenced, while an estimated cost of Gy$2 million is to be paid for a major overhaul of the plumbing by a local contractor,” said Beharry, a senior Banker by profession.
“Since we came into office we were able to do some corrective work, but not to the magnitude required to bring the facility to a true International standard cricket venue.
For us to reach the desired standard, there are a few things we need to act on in the near future,” continued Beharry, a former BCB President who represented Berbice as a big hitting left-hander who bowled left-arm spin in the senior Inter-County 50-over tournament.
Beharry, who has played for several clubs in Berbice, including Young Warriors where he is presently as a player and Administrator, also lamented the condition of the Indoor facility where the mats need replacing, while the Hostel need urgent refurbishing.
“Surprisingly, there are no Sightscreens at a venue built to host cricket, while lack of maintenance of very expensive machinery, some which are not working, is another concern,” the 51-year-Beharry posited.
With the GCB cash strapped and the cost to transform the LBI facility into a state-of-art venue out of their reach Beharry said GCB cannot do this alone.
“With the National Task Force now allowing cricket to be played, adhering to all covid-19 restrictions, the Bar at LBI has recently re-opened.

Anil-Beharry (2)

What we need now is a unified support for anyone who is able to help, including foreign investors and it could benefit them by the mileage they could receive…branding and such things.
Everyone needs to get involved…Cooperate Guyana, the Private Sector, the Government …everyone,” Beharry noted.
Meanwhile, speaking at the same press conference, former Malteenoes seam bowling all-rounder Brian Sukhai, who replaced the late Prittipaul Jaigobin as Treasurer in June after Jaigobin died in an accident in the interior in April, said the financial practices of the previous body was far from ‘good’.
“Outside of sponsorship and ticket sales from International cricket, revenue streams for the GCB mainly lie with Cricket West Indies.”
According to the Treasurer, GCB receives US$25,000 in monthly subventions which go towards administrative costs.
“There is another source of income of US$17,500 which mainly goes toward the Academy players but we have not been able to access account as yet, since Cricket Guyana Inc (CGI) which managed the affairs of the Guyana Jaguars, is a private entity,” added Sukhai.
The ongoing legal proceeding to gain access to the accounts is also linked to the rebranding of the Warriors to Guyana Amazon Jaguars, which is now managed by the GCB.
“We did an analysis and there were a couple of things that were not in keeping with financial best practices…we found no significant evidence of financial transactions were posted from the middle of December 2020 to March of 2021 and there was no evidence of Bank reconciliation for that period,” revealed Sukhai, a certified Accountant.
The Treasurer indicated that the GCB was audited up to November 30, 2020, while improprieties were discovered with the accounts.
When asked if these improprieties would be investigated and the taken to the Guyana Police Force? Sukhai said “Yes, those are options.”

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