MINISTER of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony announced Friday that in 2010 his Ministry will be collaborating with the Guyana Olympic Association and other partners to establish a National Anti-doping Agency.

Minister Anthony noted that doping in sports is a major problem and if mechanisms are not in place it would create a lot of problems for local athletes.

Guyana, he said has been contributing to the World Anti-Doping Association and has been up-to-date with its dues.

“We have been working with the Regional Anti-doping Association…We have also started discussions with a number of countries to have bilateral agreements in sports and next year you will see some of those agreements coming to fruition,” Dr. Anthony said.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was established in 1999 as an international independent agency composed and funded equally by the sport movement and governments of the world.

Its key activities include scientific research, education, development of anti-doping capacities, and monitoring of the World Anti Doping Code (Code) – the document harmonizing anti-doping policies in all sports and all countries. WADA is a Swiss private law foundation. Its seat is in Lausanne, Switzerland, and headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

WADA’s mission is to promote, coordinate and monitor the fight against doping in sport in all its forms.

In addition, the Minister said that his Ministry this year also had a joint committee with the Education Ministry to promote more sports in schools.

“That work is going to continue. We are going to map a specific strategy of what we want to introduce into the school system. We are also going to establish a broader ministerial committee having more ministries participate at that level to promote sports within specific Ministry’s because if we are going to promote sports at various levels we think each Ministry having a task force set up in their Ministries that we can have wider spread,” he said.

Minister Anthony further highlighted that the Ministry has been reviewing the National Sports Commissions Act where it was noted that there are areas that need to be strengthened. In 2010 work will be done in this area to improve the act.

The Ministry, he added, is also looking at the possibility of setting up a system for accreditation for coaches and officials.

“We will see whether that will be possible to do under a revised National Sports Commission Act. If we cannot do it there then perhaps you will have to write a separate piece of legislation to cover that, but we are very interested in going in that direction because I think it is very important,” he concluded. (GINA)