Gov’t must hit WICB half-volley out of the ground

Dear Editor,

For a reason that will become patently obvious at the end of this missive, let me state from the outset that the apercu expressed herein is not indicative, or conclusive, of the policy of the Executive Government of Guyana which ought, or may seek, to be more ably advised on the imbroglio created by the unpardonable intransigence of the current West Indies Cricket Board.

Historically, mainland Guyana has ever been cast as the pariah of any confederation of Caribbean States, be it the West Indies Federation, Caribbean Free Trade Area, (Carifta) and more recently, Caribbean Community (Caricom). However, the records reflect that Guyana has survived and will continue to be resilient inspite of the disparate manoeuvres and machinations of individuals and/or corporate entities marshalled against it to the North. Integration, at a minimum, encompasses a level of unremitting tolerance by every body politic, if meaningful participation were to be successfully sustained. A forensic analysis of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC) which forms the foundation and pillars of Caricom, will ineluctably so demonstrate. It is recognized by most informed commentators that no Organ thereof bears a supranational character.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), incorporated as a liability company, is no less so and cannot claim exemption or seek shelter from the iterations that flow from a Member State which is sovereign and which must be treated with, and respected, by all parochial bodies within Caricom.

Consequent upon the pronouncement of the learned Chief Justice (ag.) in a matter filed by a non-entity, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), the Government of Guyana (GOG), a real entity intervened in (not interfered with) the administration of cricket in an effort to rescue it from the clutches of a clique of businessmen whose sole association, at its optimum, with this national engagement, is as Spectators. The ICC Rules expressly proscribe “interference” not “intervention” advisedly contemplated by the Judgment of the Chief Justice. It would be dereliction in the eyes of the population should the Government of Guyana not take a cue from the Judicial arm of the State.

Their tenacious contrivances to maintain their steel-grip on the reins of authority have finally been arrested by the very Chief Justice whose judicial bearing and manner are as commendable as they are excruciatingly firm. The most recent revelations demonstrate the secretive and symbiotic relationship promoted by the WICB whose Directors have shown wanton and utter disrespect to two Executive Presidents of Guyana and the West Indies’ most outstanding Cricket Captain, Clive Hubert Lloyd CCH.

It is a universal principle in any area of conflict, that “knack gat knack back”, translated in fine scientific language: “Every Action has a Reaction”.

The Directors of the WICB, in defiance of the pleadings of the Government of Guyana since September 2011 when Dr. Julian Hunte was invited to State House for an informed and informal discussion with His Excellency, President B. Jagdeo, subsequent entreaties by Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport; and the intervention of His Excellency, Donald Ramotar most recently, directed that all matches for the regional and/or Test/ODIs, scheduled for the Providence Stadium in Guyana, be resited elsewhere. This was a direct and virulent attack on the Economy of Guyana, a travesty which ought to be met with the full authority of the laws and which is not without precedent. A former Executive President had issued preventative Orders against some sportsmen whose activities, in his own deliberate judgment, had been inconsistent with the then policy of the Government of Guyana. They were effectively banned from entering the Sovereign Republic of Guyana.

Hence, the ball is now in the Government of Guyana’s half of the wicket, if you would pardon the paronomasia, on a half-volley trajectory, and it must be hit by the Administration for the maximum, i.e out of the ground!

Our Immigration Laws make provision for deeming a non-resident, a prohibited immigrant, and the provisions of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas notwithstanding, the Government of Guyana may well deem it appropriate, at a minimum, to impose this sanction as a deterrent to all prospective political deviants. No self-respecting Guyanese ought to find this reaction unkind, intemperate or disproportionate to the egregious mischief generated by these insular operatives. Guyanese have tended to be too tolerant of the intolerant!

From this perspective I am comforted in adopting and sharing the deep seated concerns of the Honourable Portia Simpson-Miller, Honourable Lester Bird, Cosmos Hamilton, the last of whom is a veteran cricket aficionado, among others.

Yours faithfully,
Justice Charles R. Ramson SC, OR
Retired Attorney General and
Minister of Legal Affairs.