UNDOUBTEDLY the development of sport is an integral component of any country’s national developmental agenda because it deals primarily with the younger section of the population and simultaneously plays a pivotal role with respect to the health of the nation as well as national production and productivity.
Therefore any national development policy worth its salt will feature the development of sports as a prominent item.
The positive correlation between health and sports is well documented and so there is no argument or controversy in this respect. What stirs some controversy is perhaps how much resources should be invested into sports development as against other aspects of the socio-economic developmental agenda. This is particularly evident in the developing world which has limited financial and other resources, but has so many difficulties and challenges, and therefore prioritisation becomes a necessity.
In this regard, the contribution by Member of Parliament and Director of Sports, Neil Kumar, was very pertinent.
“The alliance with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education is developing rapidly. The people’s awareness of the necessity and importance of a healthy lifestyle is quickly growing,” Kumar said.
This is certainly the logical direction in which to proceed because sport encompasses both the health and education sectors.
But very often sports development is regarded as a non-priority, which in the long run may prove to be unproductive for several reasons. For one, the youth, because of the absence of sports facilities, gravitate towards anti-social activities, which in today’s world are numerous and wide-ranging and result in the harming of society and become an impediment to progress.
Apart from all the physical and material benefits of sports, it has the immeasurable capacity to build national cohesion, harmony and unity, which in Guyana’s case is of critical importance because of our historical problem.
On this note Mr. Kumar was also on target when he declared that sport is a path to peace, social harmony and cohesion.
Unfortunately when this government came into office in 1992, there were enormous difficulties and challenges to overcome, including a huge national debt of US$2.5B, a run-down physical infrastructure, dilapidated schools and hospitals, a near collapse of the agriculture sector etc. Consequently, in its early years in office, it was unable to focus much on sport development.
However, as those difficulties and challenges subsided gradually, increased focus was placed on sport and currently this is being intensified. In this respect, the Guyana National Stadium stands out as a shining example as it allowed the development of a facility not only to make us proud as a host of World Cup Cricket, but also it would enhance the entire sporting sector as it is being developed into a multi-dimensional facility.
More recently we have seen the construction of an Olympic-size swimming pool and a synthetic all-weather athletics track at Leonora is being constructed.
These are all unprecedented developments in the field of sport and a dream which was promised under the previous government for many decades, but is now being fulfilled by the current government.