THE majority of clubs affiliated to the North Essequibo Cricket Committee (NECC) wish to categorically dissociate themselves from the recent public statements made by president of the committee, Mr Prince Holder.

Reference is made to his letter dated 2019-04-13 in the Kaieteur newspaper under the caption ‘Minister Norton is right in appointing the Ombudsman’. It is the firm conviction that Mr. Holder penned his letter expressing his own opinion in relation to the Minister’s appointment of Mr Stephen Lewis as Cricket Ombudsman.

The members, however, have noted this with disapproval, following his claim that the North Essequibo Cricket Committee is in support of the appointment when it fact it is the contrary. It must be clearly known that at no time were the members consulted on this issue neither were statutory meetings kept for the past two years as mandated by the constitution.

In addition, the life of the NECC has expired and therefore Mr Holder should not impose himself as president and make pronouncements on behalf of the committee. Given the current status of the NECC, the majority of clubs were forced to form themselves into a semi-functional body to organise competitions at their own expense, since none existed for the past year – a position that remains unacceptable.

The members are therefore acutely aware of the crises surrounding the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and which have also affected the local area committees. In view of this and the welcome intervention by the Courts to order new elections for the GCB, the majority of clubs fully support the process including the appointment of an impartial Ombudsman who is acceptable and without any affiliation to the current impasse.

The members therefore wish to publicly appeal to Minister Dr George Norton to swiftly rescind the appointment, in the interest of transparency and the public good so as to preserve the credibility of the national sport.
Yours faithfully,
Sparwin Sports Club
Devonshire Sports Club
Walton Hall Sports Club
Ravens Sports Club
Lima United Sports Club
Young Warriors Sports Club
Charity Sports Club
Sparta Youth and Sports Club