SPORTSVIEW
THE Executive Members of the Guyana Cricket Board must be commended for their dignified and decent behaviour at the meeting that was convened by the Hon. Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony to resolve the issues that are hindering the smooth running of the Cricket Board. President of the Guyana Cricket Board, Chetram Singh, is not in the best of health.  Hence, he expressed his desire to resign from the Board after a very successful run as President.
There were numerous allegations and cross-talking at previous meetings between two noticeable factions of the board. While healthy discussions and constructive criticisms are always good at meetings, vicious and vindictive statements must be discouraged.
Dr Anthony was able to lead and conduct the meeting and he encouraged constructive criticisms and allowed everyone to raise all issues that they felt should be discussed.  The Executive Members of the Board were very polite, disciplined and displayed great respect for one other at the meeting.
The Minster’s intervention was very timely.  In fact, it was the president of the cricket board who requested the Minister to intervene.  It cannot be denied that there are two factions in the Board and recently serious and damaging allegations have been made by both factions. Further, the “acid throwing incident” is even more grave and unacceptable to the sporting fraternity.
Media:  The media must always be fair and report in an unbiased and objective manner.  While some sections of the media are reporting very fairly, one section of the media is only reporting the opinions and points of view expressed by one faction.  This type of biased reporting will not only harm the sport but it will certainly cause readers to shun that particular newspaper.
There are no cracks on the facility at LBI.  This is a downright lie. Pretipal Jaigobin never pointed his fingers at anyone and accused them of corruption, fraud or financial irregularity. He is a young man who knows financial regulations and he has a right to ask questions. 
Further, Jaigobin is absolutely correct in asking for better systems to be put in place.  Hence, the media must not be an antagonist and report with a bias. Chetram Singh himself is a man whom I respect, especially for his honest and accountable approach to financial practices.
He is a member of the cricket board’s Finance Committee and is also the Chairman of the National Sports Commission Finance Committee.  He always asks questions and insists on proper documentation.
It is crystal clear that in building the two facilities all the rules and regulations were not followed. However, lack of experience and the willingness to get things done expeditiously always lead to “hiccups” in these situations. 
The Hon. Minister Anthony was able to stimulate free and frank discussions and systems were put in place to check value for money and to scrutinise spending with the desire to put proper or better systems in place to satisfy all the financial regulations.
Cricket is the sport that Caribbean people, especially Guyanese, hold closest to their hearts. It is a sport that attracts millions of people around the world and is the premier sport in Commonwealth countries.
Guyanese are proud of our superheroes in cricket. Many of our young players certainly have the potential and talent to reach the pinnacle of world cricket. However, the cricket administrators must lead by example.  They must demonstrate that their first priority is the development of cricket.

Power and the Desire to be at the Top
The constitution of the cricket board is very sound. However, they were all working with the last edition of the constitution which was adopted and stamped by the Friendly Society Act.  It is a pity, but normal, that passionate people behave immaturely when debating issues that they care greatly about.
People were trying their best to win in a no-win situation. Hence, confusion and arguments replaced rational thinking and healthy discussion. After the meeting and within a short time all the issues will be cleared up and those who have genuine interest in cricket will prevail.
This episode with the cricket board is ground-breaking. Many National sports associations/federations are deviously hiding under deception and clout while their respective sport disciplines are suffering.  The Cricket Board issues will be resolved. 
And better days are certainly coming for cricket. Expectations are high that the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony, and his dedicated and experienced team will intervene and make other National sports associations/federations function better towards advancing the interests of their respective disciplines.