Dear Editor,
I have learnt with some degree of concern of the happenings at an Executive Meeting of the Guyana Cricket Board held on Wednesday 7th February, 2007 at the Board’s office in Georgetown.
I therefore wish to call on the President of the Guyana Cricket Board to confirm or deny whether the following took place:-
(a) That an official was inebriated at the meeting, as a result of which he affected the smooth running of the meeting and was responsible for the meeting not reaching the high standards that the Board was accustomed to over the years.
(b) Secondly, I call on you to confirm or deny the following sequence of events in relation to the appointment of representatives to the West Indies Cricket Board.
I am advised that you deemed yourself and eight other Executives (a total of 9 persons) eligible to vote and in the process unlawfully and without legal authority disenfranchised the President (a.g.) of the Demerara Cricket Board and denied him the right to vote notwithstanding Article 6D of the Constitution of the Guyana Cricket Board. My information is that you then invited nominations and Mr. Bish Panday was proposed and seconded by two (2) of the eight (8) members. You then invited further nominations and Mr. Claude Raphael was proposed by the official referred to at (a) above. You then asked for a seconder and as none was forthcoming, you seconded Mr. Raphael. A vote was taken and both Mr. Panday and Mr. Raphael obtained four (4) votes each with one (1) person abstaining. The returning officer was the Administrator of the Board.
I am advised, Mr. Singh, that you then cast a deciding and second vote in favour of Mr. Raphael, even though you were not the returning officer. I wish you to confirm or deny whether the sequence of events narrated above is true, and if so, whether you consider your actions professional and ethical.
The Guyana Cricket Board is like a public body and it must be open to public scrutiny as Cricket and its Administration touch the lives of every Guyanese. Guyanese expect that an organisation like the Guyana Cricket Board would conduct its business with the highest integrity.
Yours faithfully,
K Mangal
Editor’s note:
We sent a copy of this letter to the President of the Guyana Cricket Board Chetram Singh for his comments and received the following response:
“The Demerara Cricket Board president is not an elected member of the executive. He is an ex-officio member based on the constitution and thus is not entitled to vote.
On the issue of my casting the deciding vote the chairman of an organization in the event of a tie in the election of office bearers has the right of a casting vote.”
