SINCE 1993, Neil Kumar ruled supreme as Director of Sport at the National Sports Commission (NSC), but after the May 11 General and Regional elections that changed when his People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) was voted out of office. Ideally, Kumar’s position is not one that is a political appointment, though his political affiliation came as a plus.
Kumar will now be replaced by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) member Christopher Jones as Director of Sport.
Though Chronicle failed at reaching the new Sport Director, Jones told local online news-outlet Inews Guyana, that the establishment of the long overdue Sports Policy is high on his agenda, since it will be a guide which his department will use during this administration of the various disciplines in Guyana.
“There is also an urgent need to establish relationships with many of those federations and associations that are out there because for reasons best known to the previous body, those relationships were strained or even absent,” Jones told Inews.
“We’re doing some field visits to some of these locations now and there are a lot of upgrades of those facilities that need to be done.” Jones said as he spoke of the desperate attention that’s also needed in addressing the state of some of Guyana’s premier facility.
According to Jones, “a lot” of work is needed to lift the image of the sport sector in Guyana. It is not in its best state based on some documentation and interactions I had in the office.”
As such, Jones plans to send some staff for overseas training as soon as possible in order to improve their skills and effectiveness.
The Sports sector, he noted, will also place emphasis on its Public Relations Department, which he pointed out is almost nonexistent and in this regard, the NSC will officially launch its Facebook Page on June 10.