MINISTER of State, Joseph Harmon, met with Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Damien O’Donohoe yesterday and gave the government’s commitment to the CPL, according to a press release from the Ministry of the Presidency.According to a release from the Ministry, Harmon said that “Guyana is not only a cricket-loving country but a cricket-crazy country so we have every reason to welcome the CPL back to Guyana and I want to reaffirm the government’s full support for the CPL specifically, and cricket in general,”
“We are aware that the franchise owner of the Guyana Amazon Warriors is a close associate of the previous administration. However we can assure that that will not in any way hamper how the current administration treats with the CPL and the franchise owner in terms of facilitating the games being hosted in Guyana and our future engagement,” Minister Harmon said.
Minister Harmon expressed regret at the ad hoc manner in which the previous government engaged the CPL with regard to matches hosted in Guyana and conveyed to O’Donohoe that the APNU+AFC Administration would be prepared to take the requisite steps to ensure that a structured and legally sound agreement which is Cabinet-approved is in place.
Minister Harmon further said that the government is prepared to commence negotiations in this regard, at the earliest opportunity, to ensure that this is in place.
The minister, the release said, assured O’Donohoe that the government will commit to ensuring that all the usual exemptions and concessions for the hosting of international cricket in Guyana will be granted to the CPL for the hosting of the matches in the ongoing tournament.