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Linden should not be left behind in sports development – Figueira
…Opposition MP hopeful of holistic development of sports in Linden
By Rawle Toney
Opposition Member of Parliament, Jermaine Figueira, believes that non-attention given to sports in Linden is a microcosm of the state of sports in Guyana.
Charles Ramson Jr – Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport
“This is not me being political in any regard to bash the Government for their consistent failure of epic proportions in this most important sector, year-after-year, but the evidence speaks for itself,” Figueira told Kaieteur News.
Figueira shadows the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and has had some interesting debates with Minister Charles Ramson Jr in the National Assembly, specifically on the area of sports and its development in Guyana.
To Minister Ramson’s credit, he has taken a more proactive approach to sports as compared to his predecessors, including those who previously served in his PPP/C administration and the Immediate-past Government.
However, Figueira believes that Linden has been left behind from the country-wide ‘boom’ in sports, and has not benefited as compared to other parts of Guyana.
Jermaine Figueira – Opposition Member of Parliament
Kaieteur News recently visited Linden and the newspaper was left dumbfounded at the amount of dilapidated structures across the Upper Demerara River community.
“If you traverse the communities in the township and by extension the Region you will not see evidence of work that has been done on any facility that can be of significant impact to our young promising athletes,” Figueira said.
The completion of the synthetic track at the Bayroc Community Centre Ground has been a contentious issue for Lindeners – many unaware of the estimated time for completion.
However, following Kaieteur News’ series of articles regarding sports in Linden, this newspaper was reliably informed that the Ministry of Sport will soon publish a number of Tenders for bids for works done at the Bayroc facility, including the construction of stands and other amenities that were not included in the facility’s original design.
The McKenzie Sports Club is considered the Mecca of sports in Guyana; a facility with an unmatched historical relevance.
But deteriorating, despite the current executive committee’s effort to keep it in at least ‘usable state’, Figueira said the facility must be put into context “and I premise my response to a suggestion by the Government for a planned modernization of the MSC into a multipurpose facility. Which is another clear indication, that the Ministry responsible for sports or those heading it are not only bereft of ideas for the development of sports, but are also foreign to the important historical relationships between sports and its facilities.”
Figueira said “the MSC has always been a multipurpose facility/venue for sports and other numerous social events for the community of Linden…I am saddened by its present state and the need for support from tax payers’ money will be most welcome.”
Figueira believes, “If the talk of the Government’s plan to enhance and modernize the facility goes beyond empty promises, it would be highly appreciated.”
Linden athletes, though their dominance locally, regionally or internationally, are amongst the country’s least-supported with Figueira saying that he’s “intimately aware of the minute and dismal support our most promising athletes in Linden and by extension athletes in the country receive for all disciplines that makes it beyond our borders.”
Though pointing to his support shown and given to athletes before his days in the Honorable House, Figueira said “as a Member of Parliament, on the side I sit, the most I can do is lobby from a policy standpoint through suggestions during debates in the house and hope that the government is magnanimous enough to take my proposals and use them for the benefit of the athletes from Linden and across the country.”
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