The construction of the two hostels at La Bonne Intention (LBI) and Anna Regina are among the major issues in GOG report to ICC
The Government of Guyana is presently preparing a dossier on Guyana’s recent troubled administrative past by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) to send to the International Cricket Council (ICC) so that it may inform future discussions, according to a government source.
The source also indicated that this document will be finished by this weekend and it will outline, according to the source, all the allegations of financial improprieties, executive lawlessness, among other things, prior to the formation of the government’s Interim Management Committee (IMC) last December.
“All I can say at this point, the alleged financial improprieties within the GCB over the past two years was identified as the main concern by government in their report to the ICC,” the source added.
The GoG established the IMC to handle the affairs of cricket in Guyana after a controversial Annual General Meeting last May, which saw Ramsey Ali winning the presidency, taking over from longstanding president Chetram Singh and after a recommendation by Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang in a ruling last August.
Yesterday, this publication also learnt that that the audits that were conducted by Design and Construction Services Limited (D& CSL) might find a place in the report, especially since both those audits had unflattering findings.
In the D& CSL report it was noted that it was “unable to provide a comprehensive audit on the construction of two hostels due to the conflicting information provided by the Board, hence DCSL could not have commented on actual payments made to the contractors.”
Meanwhile, following concerns about the board’s finances, the Guyana Police Force has launched an investigation into the financial affairs of the GCB.
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee at a press briefing recently disclosed that he had written to the Acting Police Commissioner Leroy Brummell requesting that the police force conduct an immediate investigation into the affairs of the GCB.
“There is a general belief that everything is not all right with respect to the financial activities of the Guyana Cricket Board. There are certain documents which have to be perused in order to ascertain the extent to which this situation obtains” Rohee had noted.
Critics had chided the government for not moving earlier against the GCB and applying pressure against those who were resisting changes. They had noted that the very issues the police will now probe had been raised publicly as far back as two years.
On the other hand, cricket’s world governing body ICC and the region’s parent body West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) have condemned the Guyana government’s takeover and have re-emphasized their stance against political interference in the running of the sport. But Sport Minister Dr. Frank Anthony, at a recent press conference in response to the ICC’s statements condemning the GoG for dissolving the GCB said the ICC was being fed “onesided’ information.
The Sport Minister added the WICB was well aware of the state of cricket administration in Guyana prior to Government’s involvement and took no part in resolving these issues.
Since the formation of the IMC, Guyana’s first four matches of the Regional Four-Day Championship was pulled from the government owned National Stadium at Providence along with the third Test between West Indies and Australia that was scheduled for the same venue.
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