NEWLY elected president of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sterling Products Limited (SPL), Ramsay Ali, yesterday told Chronicle Sport that one of his main areas of concern is the embattled Demerara Cricket Board (DCB). Responding to president of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) Keith Foster’s claims that the former president of the GCB, Chetram Singh, should have handled the situation before it got out of hand, Ali said he agreed with Foster and has already aligned some plans to be implemented with regard to the DCB.
“First of all, at our recently held Annual General Meeting (AGM), the Assistant Treasurer of the former Executive Committee of the GCB listed about six or seven allegations and I am convinced that these allegations were made with an aim to create mischief at the said AGM.
“Not only I am convinced, but the former treasurer of the said GCB, along with a representative of our external auditor who was present, and we were able to answer all the questions and allegations thrown at us,” said Ali.
He added, “For the first six months of this year along with the past financial year, the GCB has had a clean bill of health financial-wise and one of the things we have implemented at our first executive meeting was to mandate our auditors to come in and do an audit on the GCB’s finances for the first six months of this year, with the result being made to the public, along with the answers to the former Assistant Treasurer’s allegations.
“With regard to the queries raised on the Pakistan tour, where I read in the press that we utilised funds that we were not authorised to use etc, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will be conducting their own audit with their auditors on that tour and they will publish their own findings in due course.”
According to Ali, the DCB issue remains a problem, but not for him, as the only problem he sees with it is the challenge to resolve it as quickly as possible.
“Demerara cricket has been playing despite the differences among its executives and I am positive there can be a solution to the problems facing their cricket right now. There are four functioning boards in Demerara and I intend to engage these four boards directly.
“These four boards have a president and I believe that if you have four functioning boards with four presidents, we can engage them to sit and come to a solution. With regard to that, the GCB will take the responsibility to organise cricket in Demerara, providing we get the cooperation from the four functioning associations.”
He further stated, “One of the ultimate goals with regard to the DCB is to have a functioning board in Demerara. The issue is before the court at the moment and so far there has been no further injunctions filed, hence it would be great to approach the four functioning presidents with a view to resolving the issues.
“One of the things I have read about in the judicial system, of which I am not au fait is mediation and I am wondering if that system can be used to resolve this Demerara issue, as certainly I intend to see same being done.
“Having said that, I also intend to consult with some legal minds, with regard to the mediation process, and not just any legal mind, but those who have cricket at heart and are interested in seeing Guyana’s cricket go forward from the position it is at the moment.”
With the WICB-organised, TCL-sponsored Regional Under-19 tournament set to bowl off next Monday right here in Guyana, Ali said all systems are in place to ensure Guyana hosts a wonderful tournament, while he added that systems are in place to ensure the comfort and safety of the visiting teams.
Certainly, Ali intends to put the talks that were coming from the numerous detractors and naysayers over the past 18 months behind him and move the gentleman’s game in Guyana forward to a different level.
“One of the things I would like to implement and I said this in an earlier interview last year is to have our players who are plying their trade in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), do so at home at the earliest opportunity.
“Certainly we cannot do it this year, as that time has passed but definitely I am looking at doing so next year, with the plans being implemented now, while the thinking parts in the engine room are working overtime to come up with a package that is attractive enough to keep our players at home,” stated Ali.
“We have seen it being done in some other countries and if T&T can attract sponsors to pay our players and players from other countries to play in their league, then I think we can do it here too, especially in the off-season.”
Apart from the WICB youth tournament, Guyana is set to host two Twenty20 matches between the female teams of the West Indies and Pakistan which will be played at nights at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, along with the Regional limited overs tournament, which Ali intends to make a success story as well.
His plans are crystal clear for everyone to see. He has a strong group of executives behind him and certainly with cooperation, Guyana’s cricket can take a step or even two forward from the present position it is in, but what is left to be seen is the support being given, not only from corporate Guyana, but the cricketing fraternity as well.
The answer to that question and more that may surface over time will be disclosed in time.