Jamaica dissolves Anti-doping Board

KINGSTON – The board of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) has been dissolved, the Jamaica Gleaner understands.The 15 members of the two-year-old board have reportedly received letters terminating their services.Jamaica Olympic Association President Mike Fennell confirmed that the members of the board were asked to resign.“The minister just said that based on the review that was done by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), she would like to restructure the board and therefore, she was asking everybody to resign and then she would reappoint those that they wanted to reappoint,” Fennell said.Members of WADA visited the island in May on the invitation of Minister of Sport Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange to conduct an audit of the two-year-old anti-doping body. During the visit, WADA’s director, General David Howman, who led the delegation, raised the issue of conflict of interest, as there were members of the Professor Errol Morrison-chaired board – namely Howard Aris, president of the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association, and Paul Campbell, president of the Jamaica Cricket Association, currently heading sports associations on the island.During his visit, Howman, who praised JADCO for the advancements made since its inception, suggested that the issues of conflict with regard to the make-up of the board did not suggest that anyone was running afoul of the code but the perception that there could be conflict took precedence. (Jamaica Gleaner)