Only I could set date for GCB elections – Minister Anthony
Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony
Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony

THE Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) last Sunday at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) pavilion, and though no election was needed, according to the Board, Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony says only he has the authority to call a date for elections, as stated in the Cricket Administration Act. “In the Guyana Cricket Administration Act, it provides for two things; 1) for the Minister to name the Cricket Ombudsman and the second thing is to name a date for the elections.

I have named the Ombudsman, and he must be given time for him to be able to do his job,” Minister Anthony said in an exclusive interview with Chronicle Sport yesterday.
The Cricket Ombudsman, Dr Winston McGowan, had warned the GCB that should they go ahead and hold elections, it would be deemed illegal since it would be contrary to the laws of the land that now governs the game in Guyana.
“He (McGowan) has been trying to investigate the various issues that surround cricket, but I think he has been having difficulties doing that because some members of the GCB are not allowing him access to the things that he needs to do, so that there could be free and fair elections,” said the Sport Minister.
Minister Anthony pointed out that at present, he is awaiting a response from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) after having written to the regional governing body of the game for proposed dates for the GCB elections as constituted in the Cricket Administration Act.
According to the Cricket Administration Act (Schedule 1, Section 7), the “elections to the Executive Committee of the GCB in respect of the first elections shall be held in accordance with Section 17 on the date appointed in writing by the Minister, acting in consultation with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)”.
Part VII, Section 17 of the Act states that “the Minister, after meaningful consultation with the WICB, shall be responsible for the appointment of a Cricket Ombudsman, who shall be responsible for the verification of the Register of Clubs and for performing the functions of Returning Officer for the first elections of the membership”.
Should the WICB who were written to last week, not respond within the stipulated three-week period, the Sport Minister will then go ahead and name a date for the GCB elections.
President of the GCB, Drubahadur, at Sunday’s AGM, had lashed out at the Cricket Administration Act, deeming it “fraught with numerous inconsistencies and contradictions and will create more chaos than which currently exists. After careful examination by our experts, (the Bill) was found to be severely flawed and was, thus, rejected by both the GCB and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)”.
Based on his comments and that of the GCB, it would be interesting to see how things unfold, given the fact that they had all been returned to their respective posts after not having the need to contest an election.
Meanwhile, the GCB had accused the Government of Guyana of being officious; something Minister Anthony strongly refuted, pointing out, “Government isn’t meddling in cricket, that’s something they’ve been saying all along. This is about there’s a law in the country now; a law that was passed in the National Assembly with the consent of everyone. So this is the law of the country which is very clear.”
Asked what’s next, the Sport Minister said, “What’s next? The ministry’s role is very clear and we are going to name the date for an election.”

(By Rawle Toney)

 

 

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