If Guyana failed to meet its commitments there should be a public inquiry once the World Cup is over

Dear Editor,

I have been following the news of the ICC CWC letter to the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) in Guyana and the response by the Minister of Sports and the LOC. The letter seems quite clear that, in the view of the ICC CWC, Guyana has not met its commitments and therefore GL Events has been contracted to do what is necessary.

The minister and the LOC on the other hand have said that this is a “non-issue” and seem to suggest that GL Events had been contracted as a matter of course and not as a result of any delays on the part of those responsible in Guyana.

If Stabroek News’ quotes from the letter are accurate then the minister ought not to describe the happenings as a “non issue.” Guyana, if it met its commitments, should do a better job of letting the public know that the ICC CWC letter is absurd and should seek a correction, if not an apology, since the allegations are a great source of embarrassment to Guyana and Guyanese. Stabroek News and the Guyana media ought to investigate this issue further to determine whether similar action has been taken at any of the other venues.

On the other hand, if Guyana did in fact not meet some of its commitments resulting in GL Events assuming responsibilities beyond those initially assigned the company, then there must be a public inquiry on this matter once the World Cup is over.

But of more immediate concern at this time is the news that the ICC CWC and the LOC will have parallel venue and site managers at the Providence Stadium. This seems like a recipe for confusion and puts into question who really is accountable if there are any problems once the matches begin. Guyana should not allow a situation to be in place whereby its officials could be blamed for something over which they had no control. Either the ICC CWC or the LOC must be in control of the stadium – it cannot be both. [Ed note: Manage-ment of the stadium is the responsibility of CWC at this stage.]

The murder of Bob Woolmer in Jamaica clearly demonstrates that there is more at stake in this World Cup than the trophy and prize money. This puts an even greater burden on the host countries with regard to security. Certainly security personnel must now shift their focus from potential ‘suicide bombers’ to ‘murderous betters.’ I hope Guyana has put in place heightened intelligence and security mechanisms which could deter any tragedy such as that in Jamaica.

One wonders if Woolmer had been murdered in Guyana how we would have handled it. Jamaica has done a good job, a professional job thus far. I want to suggest that President Jagdeo and Minister Anthony set up an advisory committee to deal with any emergencies that might arise during the matches in Guyana. Such a committee should comprise an outstanding and independent legal mind such as Bryn Pollard, an experienced public communications person such as Kit Nascimento, an experienced logistics/operations individual in the person of Joe Singh along with a diplomat (Rudy Collins) and a former top police official (Balram Ragubir). This way, they could get good advice. Let us hope it wouldn’t be necessary.

Yours faithfully,

Wesley Kirton