Letter to the Sports Editor
I REFER to recent articles published in the Guyana Chronicle of Monday, March 15, 2010, and the Guyana Times of Tuesday, March 16, 2010, dealing with alleged problems encountered at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Guyana Cricket Board held on Friday, March 12, 2010. My submissions here are intended to clarify the skewed presentation made in both articles by setting the record straight.
1.  The meeting was properly summoned..
2.  Mr Fizul Bacchus called the meeting to order at the about 17;05 h.
3.  The following persons were present when Mr Bacchus called the meeting to order: Mr Bissoondyal Singh, Vice-President; Mr Anand Sanasie, Honorary Secretary; Sheik Ahmad Treasurer; Mr Pretipaul Jaigobin, Assistant Treasurer; Mr Ronald Williams, Assistant Secretary; Mr Michael Hyles, Franco Chairman  Junior Selection Panel’ Claude Raphael, Chairman Snr Selection Panel; Mr Carl Moore, Chairman Competitions Committee,  also Mrs Savitri Persaud, Administrator and Mr Reon King Cricket Development Officer were in attendance.
4.  I immediately told Mr Fizul Bacchus that I was challenging the fact that he was performing the function of Chairman of the meeting. I further informed Mr Bacchus that the basis of my challenge was that the Executive Committee did not appoint him to deputise for the President.
5.   Mr. Fizul Bacchus then referred to a letter of appointment purporting to come from Mr Chetram Singh (President).  The letter he was referring to was in fact an e-mail that was purported to have been sent by Mr Singh from the Guyana Cricket Board’s email address – gcb@solutions2000.net at 11:25 h on Thursday February 28. In fact  Mr Singh departed Guyana at approximately 05.00 h on the same day.
6.   I explained to Mr Bacchus that the constitution of the Guyana Cricket Board did not provide for Mr Chetram Singh to appoint anyone to deputise for him.
7.   Mr Sanasie then started to  brandish a set of papers saying that he differed in opinion as the constitution specifically provided that the vice-president with responsibility for Administration shall deputise for the president.
8. Mr P. Jaigobin then produced a folder which contained a constitution that Mr Sanasie had circulated to all members of the Executive Committee when he assumed office in January 2009. Mr Jaigobin pointed out to Mr Sanasie that the document that he was alluding to be the constitution of the Guyana Cricket Board differed from the one that he had circulated to members of the Executive Committee.  An argument ensued as to which document was the correct constitution of Guyana Cricket Board, when Mr Bacchus got up, kicked his chair backwards saying, “y’all take the chair if you want it” and immediately left the meeting closely followed by Mr Ahmad and Mr Sanasie.
9.   Soon after the trio departed Mr Terry Holder, Public Relations Officer arrived and after listening to the unfortunate sequence of events suggested that since the meeting had already been called to order and we still had a quorum that we continue the Business of the Board.  .
10.  To my mind all my challenge required was “a sitting down” of the members of the Executive Committee and a discussion as to which Vice-President should act as President.  I was and am still prepared to accept this as the way forward.
11.  As to Mr Bacchus functioning   “well” since he was on the job, nothing is further from the truth. He never called a Tour Committee Meeting prior to the start or during the Zimbabwe Tour. Were it not for the initiative of the other Vice President.  Mr Bissoondyal Singh, we would have been in shambles. Mr Bacchus is at a loss as to the GCB’s operations.
12.  I advised Mr Bacchus to schedule a meeting of the Tour Committee on Saturday, February 27. He bluntly refused saying that it was his Muslim Holiday but that he would have the meeting on Monday March 1 at 11:00 h. Imagine calling a meeting when the teams and officials were scheduled to begin arriving in Guyana at 08:00 h on the March 1, 2010 and arrangements had to be made to accommodate them. To date, he has not scheduled a tour review meeting or a debriefing of the male senior team.
13. That at the last Annual General Meeting of the Board the membership mandated the Executive Committee to address the unacceptable position where Mr Bacchus functions as a Vice-President of the Board and also as a member of the junior panel of selectors. How then could we aggravate the situation by making him acting President while he still remains a member of the Junior Panel of Selectors!
14. On the question of the newspaper, I find it extremely strange, that they would publish this fairytale from the Essequibo Board without checking out the facts.
I was at my Office all day Monday from 08:00 h until 20:00 h and my cell phone number is well known by members of the media.
The minute-taker, Assistant Secretary Mr Ronald Williams could have also been contacted. 
15. From the time that Mr Bacchus called the meeting to order up to the time that himself, Mr Ahmad and Mr Sanasie walked out of the meeting there wasn’t any semblance of violence or any need for fear as the Guyana Times reported. It is important to note that no one else left the meeting and the Guyana Chronicle never reported this falsehood.
In my view the meeting was a properly held Executive Committee Meeting and the furore created by the “trio” was to prevent the questions on irregularities, and financial improprieties which are excessive and which we feel require a forensic audit of the Boards’ operations.
It is very evident that the GCB has been taken over by a group of power-hungry, position-seekers who have no care or concern for the game of cricket. They know nothing about the game. I wish to add my support to some of the sentiments expressed by Mr Neil Kumar in the Sunday Chronicle of March 21, 2010.
It is my view that we must select suitable, capable and efficient officers to represent us at any level including the WICB Level.