Geographically, Essequibo is the largest county in Guyana, but when it comes to the administration of cricket in the country, the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) is head and shoulders above both the Essequibo Board and even the two factions of the Demerara Cricket Board.
This fact was alluded to by Chairman of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) and former Guyana and West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd, when he and some members of his team met with the BCB and its stakeholders in their final public consultation at the Berbice High School last Sunday.
“Let us help the new Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and its members, put in place the mechanism towards making cricket in Guyana the sport it was of yesteryear, as we want to bring it back and I am positive that there are some nuggets that can be brought to fruition.
The BCB has that hold on getting things done effectively and efficiently, with great accountability and if your system is working so well for you, why don’t we adopt same or even part of it for Guyana’s cricket, as we look to revamp the game here.”
Earlier, the 67-year-old Lloyd, who was accompanied by Major General (retired) Norman McLean, Roger Harper, Bissoondyal Singh and facilitator Ronald Williams at the head table, said the health of sports in any country is for all.
“The health of sports in any country depends not just on the young or even the young talent that participates in events, but on the wisdom of individuals who preside over sports and the strength of the respective institutions; and in Guyana, cricket is our main sport but it has been riddled over the past years with allegations of impropriety and mismanagement, which is not healthy for the sport,” stated Lloyd.
As he has done throughout the previous seven public consultations the IMC held throughout Guyana, Lloyd informed cricket stakeholders in the Ancient County of the IMC’s Mission Statement.
It reads, “To facilitate development, good governance and proper administration of Guyana’s cricket and thereby raising its standard in the country.
“We also intend to promote Guyana’s cricket for the benefit and enjoyment of its people, client and stakeholders, procuring in consistency and corporately, successful international Guyanese products and to that end, the IMC will put in place a legally designed Constitution.
This will facilitate transparent and properly conducted elections of the GCB, with observers from the media, the West Indies Cricket Board and CARICOM Secretariat and any other stakeholder who wishes to be there, and put in place legislation with regard to the administration of cricket in Guyana in keeping with international standards.”
Lloyd further told the BCB, that as Chairman of the IMC, he took the mandate to revamp Guyana’s cricket seriously, saying how wonderful it would be for him when Guyana’s cricket is returned to the days of yore, with accountability and transparency, and Guyana as a nation standing tall on the success of its cricketers.
BCB president Keith Foster asked the IMC to put in place in the Constitution, a legislature which would see all cricket boards being compensated for the cricketers they produce, saying, “The WICB sends money to the GCB for Cricket Development and while the local Boards prepare the players, they are not compensated for such by the GCB.
Readily, Lloyd and the other members of the head table agreed to the BCB’s head suggestion, with Lloyd referring to the England Cricket Board (ECB) who readily compensates a County from which a player was selected to represent the country.
From 2008 to present, the BCB has organised and hosted over 250 off-the-field programmes, a number that has not been matched by any other county in Guyana to which the BCB received high marks from Lloyd, the present Chairman of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Cricket Development Committee.
McLean told the Berbicians who came from as far as West Berbice in the West and Corriverton in the East, that the IMC will soon conduct a forensic audit on the finances of the GCB, as they would like to know what is their income from the WICB, what is being disbursed to the County boards and how it is handled.
This was after Singh, a former vice-president of the GCB told the gathering of his findings just before he left that entity, where he found out the GCB receives US$100 000 from the WICB, while minutes and a financial statement from the WICB (which he has in his possession,)states they owe Guyana US$324 000.
According to Singh, when he posed the question to the outgoing president of the GCB, Chetram Singh, about the said funds, he was told it is in a Trustees Fund, which the-then treasurer Sheik Ahmad has no knowledge of.
“The skullduggeries that took place within the GCB leading up to the elections, led the BCB and one faction of the DCB to withdraw from the last Annual General Meeting, while the BCB turned up to ensure no fraudulent individuals were voting on behalf of their entity.
“In my years on the GCB, I, like the-then Treasurer, have never seen a Trustees Account and whenever such a question was posed, it was answered by murmurs and next topic please, leaving it as another unsolved mystery,” said Bissoondyal Singh.
When it came to the selection of individuals to serve the GCB in the capacity of an executive, BCB treasurer Anil Beharry said persons who are competent, honest and interested in sacrificing time and money towards the development of cricket in Guyana are overlooked.
Lloyd agreed to same and urged the clubs to come under one heading, where they will be asked to produce accountability and transparency.
He said members who are interested in being a part of the GCB must first be recommended and seconded by one of the County boards. They must accept the nomination publicly, being vetted to do so and then have an ad placed in the media confirming their willingness to govern cricket in Guyana.
Lloyd said there must be no more room for complacency and, in agreement with the head table, the BCB and its stakeholders called on all responsible to set out the criteria of what they are looking for, in relation to the administration of cricket in Guyana.
Sunday’s meeting was the last of eight, following which the IMC will meet and draft out the new Constitution for the GCB, take same to the stakeholders for debate, addition and subtractions, before they recall elections for the GCB.