… Basketball body ‘pleased’ following second meeting with Sport Minister

SEVERAL basketball courts around the city are being targeted, while the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, will visit those identified by Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) out of the Capital to ascertain the amount of work needed to rehabilitate them.
Minister Ramson met with president of the GABF, Michael Singh, along with executives of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA), Jermain Slatter and Rawle Toney. The local governing body for basketball and its affiliates were updated on a number of plans and ongoing projects by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, with regard to their game.
Minister Ramson reminded the basketball body that the sport is close to his heart and given that it is listed as one of the core sports by his ministry, they can expect more than just financial assistance for their national programmes, especially relating to the growth and decentralising of the game.

The basketball court at the Gymnasium, according to Minister Ramson, is currently being upgraded and upon completion the GABF and their affiliates can call the facility their ‘home’.
In fact, the minister and GABF should be visiting the facility next week, when they will determine where two additional courts can be built at the Gymnasium to accommodate 3-on-3 basketball, after it was noted that GABF will be pushing for more meaningful participation for the shorter format of the game.
The Gymnasium upgrade programme started under the APNU/AFC Government by Director of Sport Christopher Jones, but a fall-out over funding for the project between the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the-then Ministry responsible for sport, saw a standstill of the project since 2018.
“We want to ensure that in Georgetown we have basketball courts strategically located in communities that will be used by nearby communities. The reason we’re doing all of this is to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to play sports or in this case, basketball,” Minister Ramson said.

Minister Ramson also pointed out that “the Gymnasium will have an outside washroom facility and possibly a changing-room, so you guys (basketball) will not have to depend only on the Burnham Court to host events. You can call this one your own as well because it belongs to the people.”
Singh, GABF head, upon listening to Ramson and his plans, thanked the minister for his generosity and lauded his proactive approach in engaging the sport.
With Minister Ramson sharing plans for the facilities outside of the Capital, he was asked by Singh, to visit outlying areas, like Bartica, since spreading the game and helping to provide a space for competitive basketball to be played is part of the governing body’s mandate.
Meanwhile, Ramson confirmed the Government of Guyana’s support for the National team’s participation at the FIBA 2023 World Cup Pre-Qualifiers in El Salvador (April 7-11), while committing to the support of future programmes and projects of the GABF and affiliates.