AMIDST the internal ramblings that have been taking place, secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Anand Sanasie says everything is on stream with regard to Guyana hosting the opening ceremony and first round matches in the 2010 International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 tournament. Addressing a media briefing yesterday in the GCB’s boardroom, Sanasie, who recently returned from a West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) executive meeting in Jamaica, said an organising committee meeting headed by Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport (Dr Frank Anthony will be held today.
Added to that, he stated that there are four sub-committees which are Logistics, Operations, Marketing and Health and Safety and these are headed by himself, president Chetram Singh, Ramsay Ali and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Shamdeo Persaud.
In Chetram Singh’s absence, vice-president of the GCB, Bissoondyal Singh, is deputising as the head of the Operations sub-committee while GCB’s Public Relations Officer Terry Holder was selected to head the Health and Safety Committee, but recommended Dr Persaud who had acted in that capacity when Guyana hosted the ICC World Cup back in 2007.
With regard to the present ongoing ramblings within the governing body for cricket in Guyana, Sanasie said that the issue of the constitution is one that needs to be ironed out by the executives of the GCB as soon as possible.
“The GCB had a constitution that was in use since 1992 and up to my time of being appointed secretary. During an OGM which was held sometime between June and October last year, both Emily Dodson and Claude Raphael objected to the constitution which was signed by the then executives of the GCB and registered under the Friendship Society Act with fees being paid and a certificate issued.
The present constitution states that the vice-president with the portfolio of administration performs the duties of acting president in the absence of the elected president. Prior to that, the president would have appointed an acting president in his absence,” stated Sanasie.
He further stated that the executives of the GCB need to take to the full board, what constitution is best suited for the board, since he was told he was using the wrong constitution and when he reverted to the other constitution that too was deemed the wrong one.
“To my mind, a certain set of executives within the GCB only use a particular constitution when it best suited them at the opportune time and we need to decide once and for all, what constitution should be used by the GCB.”
Holder, who was present at the briefing, said he recognised the damage that can be done from the present situation and needs to see something being done as quickly as possible to rectify the situation.
“For someone who has been on the GCB for some time, I sent an email requesting all parties to a meeting with the aim of ironing out the issues and while some of them deemed it a wise idea, they refused to turn up and I think that we are not serious,” said Holder who, apart from Chetram Singh, is the longest-serving member of the GCB.
Sanasie added that the affairs of the GCB have been ongoing amidst all that was taking place and while some persons perceive that nothing is happening within the GCB, that is not true.
“I must say that the day to day affairs of the GCB have been ongoing contrary to reports and Mr Holder’s attempt to get a solution was excellent, but the no-show was a big humbug to the exercise,” said Sanasie.
Holder added, “Should the GCB collapse, there is nothing certain people with regard to our sponsorship and stakeholders can do to bring back the image of same.
Up to Monday, I sent an email drawing to the respective recipients’ attention, a Kaieteur News Editorial published on Sunday as well as an article done by Sean Devers and published Monday, as an example.
I spent a lot of time earning integrity and I am not going to let same go down the drain like that because of the immature way of thinking by some executives. I would recommend an external mediator to solve the present issue and while it may look as though we cannot handle our own affairs, it will also show that we need the issue resolved amicably well in the interest of cricket here in Guyana.”
When asked about the extra $1M which was paid out to the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB), in addition to their yearly subvention of the same amount, Sanasie was not hesitant in saying that was not true.
He added that the GCB’s accounts would reflect that the ECB only received $800 000 in comparison to the $1M both the Demerara Cricket Board and the Berbice Cricket Board received, with their $200 000 reduction being a repayment of a loan they received two years ago.
He further stated that contrary to reports, the GCB’s financial situation is sound, with the books being audited on a yearly basis and a report published and issued to each executive, who at the last Annual General Meeting, raised no objections to same, but made suggestions which were adhered to by the treasurer of the GCB, Asif Ahmad.
Both Sanasie and Holder are hoping that the return of the president which is expected to be sometime next month, (Chronicle Sport was informed Friday), would solve the present fiasco that is taking place within the GCB at the moment and with the entire executives meeting on the first Friday of every month, same can be addressed next Friday at the GCB’s statutory meeting.
Meanwhile, Holder informed the media members who were gathered at the briefing on the successful hosting of the GCB’s managers and would-be managers seminar which he said went well.
“We had about 15 managers and would-be managers at the session and they were lectured to by present General Secretary of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Noel Adonis and former secretary of the National Sports Council (NSC) Ivor O’Brien and they imparted their knowledge with regard to managing a team, especially a young cricket team, to the participants.”
With regard to the ongoing power struggle within the GCB in the absence of Singh who is also the longest-serving WICB Director, one would hope that same is settled as quickly as possible, especially with the ICC T20 opening being a mere four weeks away.