Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has slammed the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for intransigence and turning a blind eye to the serious issues facing Guyana’s cricket administration.
According to Nandlall, the WICB was informed of some very serious allegations surrounding Guyana’s cricket.
“We pointed out to the members of the WICB that the nature of these allegations, which include financial irregularities, visa racketeering, fraud and electoral irregularities, are serious criminal offences.
“As a parent body, we would expect the WICB to be a little concerned by their representatives in Guyana being embroiled in these type of controversies and would want to have these matters investigated in the quickest matter, by having their people insulated from this process – so that investigators would conduct this process with integrity and impartiality,” he said at a press conference held yesterday at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Quamina Street.
However, Nandlall said the governing body for cricket in the region seemed to turn a blind eye to the irregularities.
”The WICB told us as a condition unprecedented to anything else, we must recognize the GCB, those who are administering the affairs of the GCB and turn a blind-eye to the pronouncements made by our courts.”
Nandlall who articulated in the detail the legal squabbles over the past two years also slammed the WICB for what he termed an “intransigent” position during their negotiations.
“As most are aware, over the past two years there has been a series of litigations against the GCB that has not produced a decisive outcome.
“They were left in the court system for one reason or another and we never had a definitive ruling emanating until August 2011 “Haniff vs. Ali” case was the first definitive ruling by the Honourable Chief Justice Ian Chang”, explained Nandlall.
He continued: “In perusing the constitution of the GCB and its constituent membership (Demerara Cricket Board, Berbice Cricket Board, Essequibo Cricket Board), it was noted that members of the GCB are not the persons who hold office in the GCB – this is a major misconception – the GCB members are those three (3) boards.
“The GCB is an unincorporated body, it can’t own property, it can’t be sued, it can’t be held accountable for its conduct or administration for cricket in Guyana. This is the nebulous nature of this body calling itself the GCB, in which we have an entire superstructure that cannot be held accountable for the state of cricket in Guyana,” Nandlall argued.
He also went on to explain why negotiations with the WICB fell down.
“The WICB remains intransigent in their position that they will only recognize these people (GCB), then if we as a country, court, people don’t accept that – that’s a matter for us and Guyana will not be allowed to be a part of WICB cricket fraternity,”, stated Nandlall in a sombre tone.
Finally and most significantly, Nandlall, pulled out his trump card, a November 11 2011, ICC document which vindicated the government’s actions.
In the document, which was sent out by the ICC to all its member boards by Head of Legal and Company Secretary, David Becker titled “Regulations relating to Independence of Member Boards” it states:
“Naturally, a government (or any office thereof) would also not be prevented from investigating the affairs of a Member Board in order to ascertain whether any criminal offense has been committed, including fraud, dereliction of directors’ duties (including fiduciary duties) or contravention of any relevant legislation. “Similarly, there may be circumstances where a government (or any ministry thereof) rightfully seeks to intervene in the event that a Member Board is dysfunctional. The ICC Governance Review Committee believes that this is a question of accountability, not interference.”
Meanwhile Nandlall indicated that the government plans to write the ICC stating its position.
When asked by this newspaper how soon does the government intend to write the ICC, Nandlall answered that they will be preparing a detailed response to the ICC either by this weekend or early next week.
