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HearMeOut – Two Ministers. One Ministry. No excuses!
Rawle Toney
By Rawle Toney
Kaieteur Sports – For the first time in history, Guyana’s Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport now has two Ministers at the helm. To some, that might sound excessive. To me, it was long overdue.
The portfolio is massive. Culture. Youth. Sport. Each one on its own could keep a Minister fully occupied, but for years we expected one person to wear all three hats and somehow failed to deliver. It hasn’t worked. And while Minister Charles Ramson Jr. gave it a solid shot over the last five years, the truth is he was overwhelmed.
Now, with President Irfaan Ali returning Ramson to the Ministry and appointing former national cricketer Steven Jacobs as Minister within the Ministry, the stage is set for something Guyana’s sports sector has been craving…balance, accountability, and hopefully, results.
In my last column, I dissected Minister Ramson’s tenure. I gave him credit where credit was due; accessibility and funding. Two things Guyanese sport had never seen on this scale. You could call Ramson at almost any time, and he would answer, or at least return your calls or messages.
Associations finally felt heard. And thanks to a record-breaking G$21.61 billion pumped into sport during his five years, federations were no longer begging government for scraps to send teams abroad or to run grassroots programmes.
That was the upside. But the downside? Brutal. Unforgivable, even. Infrastructure. Or more precisely, the lack of it.
Minister Charles Ramson Jr and Minister within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Steven Jacobs.
With all that money flowing into the sector, Guyana should’ve seen world-class facilities mushrooming across the country. Instead, we saw plans delayed, projects abandoned, and excuses recycled.
The Achilles’ heel of Minister Ramson is that he had the cash. He had the platform. But he left Guyana without the lasting legacy of infrastructure that our athletes deserve. And that is where his tenure fell apart. At least to me.
Now enter Steven Jacobs. This is new territory. Guyana has never had a Junior Minister in this Ministry before. That’s not just historic, it’s strategic.
Jacobs isn’t some career politician with no connection to sport. He’s lived it. He’s represented Guyana on the cricket field. He’s worked at the grassroots level. And his time at the Mayor and City Council has given him the kind of hands-on experience with communities that makes him an asset.
If used properly, Jacobs can plug the gaps Ramson couldn’t cover, and his presence could stop the Ministry from sinking under the weight of its own bloated portfolio.
But honestly, none of this will matter if the Ministry continues to fumble the basics, like communication.
To date, there’s been little clarity on how the two Ministers will divide their roles. What’s Jacobs’ specific mandate? Will he drive infrastructure? Oversee community sport? Handle youth development? The public deserves answers. Instead, there’s been silence, and that silence only feeds the perception that the Ministry lacks proper public relations and direction.
My thing is, appointing two Ministers is one of the smartest moves President Ali has made for sport in Guyana. But if Ramson and Jacobs don’t clearly define their roles, if they don’t finish the projects already started, and if they don’t move urgently to address the infrastructure crisis, then this bold step will end up as nothing more than a political gimmick.
History offers an interesting twist. The last time a national athlete served as Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport was the legendary cricketer, the late Roy Fredericks, who won the World Cup in 1975 with the West Indies.
I can’t judge the weight of his tenure decades ago, but I can say that the opportunity before Ramson and Jacobs is enormous. They have the resources. They have the attention of the sporting community. They even have the symbolism of blending politics with lived athletic experience.
The question is whether they will seize this moment, or waste it.
Because Guyana doesn’t need more ribbon-cuttings, promises, and photo-ops. What Guyana needs is infrastructure. Guyana needs transparency. Guyana needs leadership that matches the billions being poured into the sector.
Two Ministers. One Ministry. No excuses.
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