By Rajiv Bisnauth

ASSISTANT Director of Sport, Melissa Dow-Richardson, is of the opinion that sports associations are not owned by individuals, and as such, the Ministry of Sport has overall responsibility in ensuring that each association implements a good governance principle.

Dow-Richardson made the disclosure during an interview with Minister of Sport, Dr. George Norton, recently, after Chronicle Sport had sought some clarity on the way forward regarding the legitimacy of the appointment of the Cricket Ombudsman by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).

The GCB went ahead and appointed its own Cricket Ombudsman, Attorney-at-Law Stephen Lewis, but the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) filed injunctions in court against the appointment, which was subsequently upheld.

The GCB’s move came even after Dr Norton had informed the public that he is in the process of appointing a Cricket Ombudsman.

“This is a good governance issue. The functionaries who are in place are the ones whose term have expired, and so they (GCB) cannot manipulate the process that is there to legitimize. It is like an ownership situation and sport associations are not owned by any individual and so that transition is essential. So this is like a clog, and has to be defused by an entity that has that responsibility, which is the Ministry of Sport,” the Assistant Director of Sport opined.

During that interview, Minister Norton reiterated the government’s position in the appointment of the Cricket Ombudsman, which will eventually help bring closure to a long-running dispute, which has affected the game since 2011.

Dr Norton is of the view that the current GCB is illegal, based on the Cricket Administration Act of 2014, and as such, he says the current administration remains firm in ensuring that a properly constituted board, truly representative of the real stakeholders of Guyana’s cricket, would be in place.

Currently, the Minister is seeking legal guidance from the attorney general chambers on the way forward, but whatever is the outcome, Guyana has been earmarked to host a series of international games this year, and as such, the GCB always plays a pivotal role.