Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jun 02, 2018 Sports
Firstly, let me clear my debt to Cicero by thanking him for crystallizing the four Cardinal Virtues: Justice, Wisdom, Courage and Temperance. Courage in my opinion is the greatest virtue and underpins all other virtues; yet lack of temperance is the most challenging of virtues to inculcate into your character.
The gains in character and honour from not acquiescing to ill-will, ingratitude, insolence, arrogance and disloyalty far exceeds any soup one may receive from the process of groveling and prostrating oneself to persons in high office.
The pure joy garnered from sports in terms of inspiring the masses of a nation are unparalleled, the ethos of cohesion, solidarity and, connectivity are immeasurable; be it in Cricket, Football, Basketball or any of the other sports.
To a considerable extent, certain sports are played by the underprivileged, and for these individuals, it is the platform for the building of self-confidence, opportunities to travel, self-esteem, discipline, status, love of country, development of friendships and the perseverance to succeed. Studies have shown that participation in Sports has reduced crime, indiscipline and idle behavior.
The Guyana Basketball Federation is at a sweating point not a breaking point. We sent letters on May 7, 2018; seeking funding from the Government by writing letters to Minister Norton of the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Minister Harmon of the Ministry of State for Guyana’s Men and Women to participate in the 2018 Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championships in Suriname from June 15-30.
By some quirk in the structure of the government apparatus; Senior Minister Harmon is the subject Minister of Senior Minister Norton, among other Minister/s under his domain. In addition, Minister Harmon is de facto the most powerful Minister in Guyana and his decisions can only be counteracted by President Granger; especially since, he is the spokesperson for the President.
We have not received a formal response from the Government, since we hand delivered the letters to the above-mentioned Ministries on May 7th, 2018, with the letters emailed days earlier.
Of course, rumors abound about my writings in the media; causing a backlash against funding for our female team that includes: five high schoolers from President College, one from Mackenzie High School, two from St. Roses, one from Bishops, one from the Guyana Police Force, one from Marian Academy, one from Guyana School of Agriculture, two from Kwakwani under the age of twenty-three, among others.
Most of the players from the Men’s squad have completed High School; six are from Region 10; one from Region 6, and ten from Region 4 – all are Guyanese born. Aside from the great honour to play for Guyana, it is a great psychological boost and an impressive achievement to represent your country, as many of us know.
Where is the common-sense juxtaposition for my writings in the media and the failure to action letters requesting funding for National Teams to represent Guyana at Regional Championships? For that matter where is the logic in this protracted delay?
Over $150,000 in costs are incurred daily, just to keep the basketball squads in training. The Guyana Basketball Federation is owed $4.3 Million since 2016 by the National Sports Commission (NSC); during the hosting of the Under-16 Caribbean Championships in Guyana we expended more than $7.8 Million on structural improvements to the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, which the NSC Chairman and other Commissioners promised to reimburse promptly; so far only $3.5 Million has been repaid.
My fervent wish for our country is that leadership from the green and red parties be forward looking and disavow our decades long political culture that has been filled too often with callous vendetta and spite.
Walter Rodney’s recognition of the need for a multicultural and multiracial approach to the governance of Guyana must be embraced for Guyana’s upliftment. Dr. Rodney himself underwent a change from his Pan Africanistic outlook; after grounding with all races in Guyana, after his return to Guyana in 1974.
This change in Dr. Rodney’s outlook is as clear as day, when one reads his pronouncements between 1974-1980 as it relates to Guyana. It is crass nonsense to link the expressing of my opinion in the media on matters such as my rejection of the Production Sharing Agreement between Esso, et alia & the Government of Guyana and the overt support of this administration for an illegal and unconscionable contract, and the covert and discretionary silence of the opposition and the Private Sector at it relates to seeking remedies against Esso and its minority partners; my view that the forensic audits have to a significant degree been used as a tool of persecution; my pronouncements that the destruction of the sugar industry is based on partisan politics and racism; akin to the invasion of Red House and the denial and subsequent neophytic excitement and spitefulness that the now expired Gaming Authority Leadership displayed during their term in office, in its palavering and prating over the second application for a Casino Licence by Sleep-In International Hotel and Casino.
Hopefully better sense prevails from the New Board. Also, allow me a little more of your high value space, to also reference my public pronouncements in the media re: 1) That President Granger had the authority vested in him by the inherent weaknesses in the constitution to appoint a Chairman of GEOCOM, once he rejected the first list, by finding any individual on the list: unfit or improper or both.
2) My support of Minister Harmon, when I felt the President acted without temperance to axe Mr. Tiwari as Business Advisor to Minister Harmon.
3) Personal funding though the Guyana Basketball Federation to resurface Burnham Court at a cost of more than $10 Million and arrange the best image we have in Guyana of our first Executive President on a 25X10 foot billboard, in all his charismatic splendor. Many Guyanese have been going to Parade Ground/Burnham Court to take photos under his image and suchlike.
4) My writings on the AFC overreach for power within the coalition was also written about in the media; look no further than their efforts to undermine Minister Harmon. A spectacular failure, as is even more evident now.
5) The obsequious behavior of the WPA, though not as extreme now, still exists to this day.
Guyana is the richest nation in the world per capita in terms of natural resources, we have 83,000 square miles to develop; yet we squander our time on the rights and wrongs of using a few acres of formerly pasture land in Pradoville or building a magnificent hotel in Kingston, on then unused land.
The Marriott now stands as a flagship hotel in Guyana and I have not seen a better Marriot in Suriname, Barbados, Jamaica or Trinidad – that our Marriott is often used by investors and potential investors in Guyana is an understatement.
The Corporate Community has been supportive to sports in Guyana, but the culture and systems are not in place for organised funding. The level of funding required for sports in schools, clubs and at the National level is just not sufficient from the corporate community event, while we acknowledge some in the business community are supportive.
Most of the funding must come from Government and budgetary provisions for such funding has to be increased ten-fold at a minimum, to avoid this malaise from continuing degrading of youth and sport.
We have a Lotto Fund that is used in a most mysterious, curious and arbitrary fashion; though monies in the Lotto fund are supposed to be for community development and sports; this is the exception rather than the norm. The hundreds of millions that pass through the Guyana Lotto fund can well allow for significant allocations to our lead Sport Federations and Associations, as is done in Barbados and other countries.
I recall, as if it happened yesterday, when we were informed by our National Coach, Mr. Hewley Henry at St. Stanislaus Basketball Court that President Forbes Burnham died. The date was August 6, 1985; the Coach asked that we stop the training session and have a minute silence in a show of respect on the passing of our President. Hewley Henry was a staunch WPA supporter at the time; and his show of cohesion and solidarity that involved all the players in the silent prayer still motivates.
”The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away.” Marcus Aurelius.
Yours in Sport,
Nigel Hinds
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