– Culture and Youth merged
By Stephan Sookram
Charles Ramson Jnr. will take up his tenure as the Minister with responsibility for Culture Youth and Sport following the swearing in of new government ministers yesterday.
Ramson Jnr, a former presidential adviser to the Donald Ramotar administration, has now been handed the keys to a sector many feel should have its own subject minister.
This was not the case in the previous government as the sport sector was absorbed and ultimately overshadowed by the education sector.
After his swearing in at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC), Ramson gave a quick comment saying, “As far as sport is concerned, right now sport is very disorganised, so I want to be able to start to get sport organised in this country.”
While he did not outline his plans for the sector, Ramson Jnr is no stranger to the sporting world, being an active participant in cricket; he now has the job of reforming the sport sector.
One of the many things the new minister has to look at is the refurbishment and ultimate development of the South Dakota Race track into an international venue.
In its manifesto, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) campaigned heavily on the refurbishing and further development of the Timehri-based motorsport circuit, the home of racing locally.
President Irfan Ali had spoken to this on numerous rallies and it is also outlined in the party’s manifesto, indicating that there are plans to revamp the venue.
Other plans outlined for the sector in the Manifesto are to ensure that each region has a premium, multi-purpose sporting facility that could be used for multiple events.
This ties into the PPP/C’s plan to also build sport academies to serve all regions, another plan outlined in the manifesto.
The Manifesto also outlined plans for the provision of incentive packages for the businesses that provide sponsorship or employment opportunities for sports persons and athletes.
Outside of the Manifesto, the new minister is also expected to look at the reform of the sector, including the long promised sport policy.
