GEORGETOWN?– Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony says no number of threats or court orders will stop the interim management committee (IMC) from bringing an end to the irregularities within the game in Guyana.
The minister made the comment at a media briefing on the same day that the International Cricket Council (ICC), condemned the Guyana government’s takeover of the game in the country and re-emphasised its stance against political interference in the running of the sport.
“[The game] is so important to our country that we want to continue having the game here and we established the IMC to ensure that this happens,” he said. “There must not be a gap and we identified the numerous things that were wrong with our cricket.”
“This did not happen overnight. We gave the individuals who were involved in the numerous disputes ample time to resolve the issues on their own and they were unable to do so and reluctantly, we got involved.”
Coming out of its two-day board meeting which ended on Tuesday in Dubai, the ICC also said it was “concerned” by the current impasse and threw its support behind the West Indies Cricket Board, which has continued to back the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).
But Dr Anthony said the government had placed a time limit on the operations of the committee and had no desire to prolong its involvement in the affairs of the GCB.
“We do not want to be in this thing forever, unlike other territories around the world, where I understand in one country you have an IMC operating for six years,” he said.
“We want to fix the issues, have fresh elections, and a functioning board. We have also said based on the court’s recommendation, the need for a legislation which will give the former GCB legal personality, which the government is willing to have done.”
Dr Anthony also took issue with comments from the WICB that the government had failed to respond an agreement brokered by CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque. (CMC)
