… Director of Sport announcement looms

THE Government of Guyana, according to the May 20 Official Gazette, has announced the appointment of a six-member National Sports Commission (NSC), paving the way for the installation of the country’s next Director of Sport.
Medal of Service Award-winning sport events promoter and organiser Kashif Muhammad will chair the commission, which also includes Guyana Lawn Tennis Association president Cristy Campbell, Guyana Cricket Board president Bissoondyal Singh, Guyana Hockey Board president Philip Fernandes, Chartered Accountant Chetram Ramdihal and Dellon Davidson.
The Commission will now meet and decide, in consultation with Minister Charles Ramson Jr, on who will be the sport body’s new Director of Sport.
According to sources, the commission will convene their first meeting within the next few days, followed by discussions with Minister Ramson where their choice of the Director of Sport will be presented. It is being rumoured that former Member of Parliament and Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Steve Ninvalle, is the front-runner for the position. The announcement of the NSC commissioners comes nine months after Minister Ramson was sworn-in to head the ministry responsible for sport.

Minister Ramson was chastised over the delayed announcement, but had insisted that he’s being guided by the 1993 Sports Commission Act, and had also pointed out that since the March 2 Elections, the PPP/C has been vocal about being compliant with the laws of the land, and as such, he didn’t “intend to break the law” when it comes to the appointment of a Director of Sport.
Neil Kumar was the first to be named as Director of Sport and he served in that capacity from 1993 until the PPP/C lost power in the 2015 Elections to the APNU+AFC Coalition.
However, after Christopher Jones was installed in the position in 2015. Following the March 2, 2020 elections, and the announcement of the return of the PPP/C Government on August 2, 2020, many speculated as to who will be Guyana’s third Director of Sport in 27 years.

In 1993, Samuel Hinds, in his capacity as acting President of Guyana at the time, assented to the National Sports Commission Act which was passed in the sitting of the Sixth Parliament on December 3 that year. According to the National Sports Commission Act, Section 11 (1), “The Commission may, after consultation with the Minister, employ upon such terms and conditions as it thinks fit a Director of Sport, and such other officers and employees as the Commission deems necessary for the proper carrying out of its functions.”
The Act outlines the Director of Sport as being the “Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, and subject to any general or specific directions of the Commission, will be responsible to the Commission for ensuring that the functions of the Commission are properly discharged and objectives achieved.”