(CARICOM Secretariat,  Guyan:- In the wake of a chorus of calls for CARICOM to intervene in the controversy surrounding the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), CARICOM Heads of Government have decided to re-activate the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Cricket.
Chairman of the Conference, the Hon. Dr Denzil Douglas told journalists at the closing press conference of their 32nd Summit in St Kitts and Nevis yesterday, that the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee would be “re-juvenated to address critical issues regarding the future of West Indies Cricket and to engage both the WICB and WIPA in an effort to resolve their ongoing dispute.”
He said that there was a need to address the issue of ownership of West Indies Cricket: “who owns West Indies Cricket; is it the Board, the players or the Caribbean peoples?” Chairman Douglas queried.
The Sub-Committee comprises Heads of Government from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and St Kitts and Nevis as ex-officio member.Antigua and Barbuda will chair the Committee.
President of Guyana , H.E. Bharrat Jagdeo weighed in on the matter, emphasising  that the Sub-committee must address longstanding issues of compensation and commercial rights of players, both of which, he stated, had plagued every tour and created “too much acrimony before and during the game.”
“These issues beg the attention of Heads and we got to do something about them now,” the Guyana President asserted.
Suriname’s President H.E. Desiré Delano Bouterse felt that what was needed was a more professional approach to sport for development in the Region.
He mentioned that Suriname had taken the lead in that, by establishing a regional sports academy, which he believed would give to young people all the opportunities to channel their talents for the good of themselves and society at large. This Academy will serve not only the CARICOM Member States, but also neighbouring countries.
“To us sport is not just recreation and entertainment, but a vital element in fostering a healthy and harmonious Community, hence the concept of Sport for Development,” he concluded.