GASA comes under the microscope

Oct 23, 2021 Sports

To the Sports Editor,

Kaieteur News – I write you today in relation to an article published in your paper on October 10, 2021 titled “GASA Boss praise Sports Minister’s Sports Academy Initiative”. While I am in support of the comments made regarding the proposed Sports Academy, I was shocked to read the response of GASA’s President to the question about how the financial improprieties of 2019 were dealt with and what was being done to ensure it doesn’t reoccur.
To remind your readers, the President responded, “The audit which was conducted did not find that the monies were used for personal benefits”. He further stated that the “then Council accepted the resignations and the entire executive body was changed”. Please permit me to address these two statements since The Dorado Speed Swim Club (an affiliate of GASA of which I am President) has asked GASA’s President to explain these statements about the audit, the resignations / changing of the entire executive since these are demonstrably false. He has not responded to this request for an explanation to date.
Since this is now in the public domain it is the intention of this letter, in the absence of an explanation from GASA’s President, to clarify the facts behind this 2019 financial debacle, the audit and to show that there the entire body did not resign as was stated.
Regarding the first statement from the President: The first page of the Independent Auditor’s Report for the Financial year ended September 30, 2019 states “We do not express an opinion on the accompanying financial statements of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association as at September 30, 2019 … we have not been able to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion on these financial statements.
Accordingly, we do not express an opinion on the financial statements”. As part of the basis for disclaimer of opinion, the Audit Report states “The balance representing receivables presented in the financial statements could not be tested since the Association was unable to provide the supporting documents. As such, we are unable to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence and cannot conclude on the accuracy, valuation and existence of this balance”.
How can GASA’s President, with a straight face, make a statement like that after reading this Audit Report?
Regarding the second statement; GASA receives funds from the FINA Development Programme through OASP for the development of swimming in Guyana. The process is simple: GASA indicates what activities it would like to do with the funds, PASO supplies the funds, and GASA executes then reports on the expenditure.
Sometime prior to August 2019, many financial improprieties were uncovered under the then Ivan Persaud-led GASA Executive. At a Special General Meeting (the General Meeting is the highest decision-making body) held on August 20, 2019, a prominent Coach, who still coaches to this day, admitted to forging 1 of 3 receipts sent to FINA. This Special General Meeting ended with a decision to dissolve the executive and start anew.
On September 5, 2019, an Extraordinary General Meeting was convened to hold fresh GASA elections. The former Vice-President was elected President and two other persons were also re-elected. On October 31, 2020 GASA’s current President was elected. His executive includes 2 of the 3 persons who were re-elected from the two previous GASA Executives. Again, how can GASA’s President, with a straight face, make a statement like that knowing it to be false?
Mr. Editor, GASA’s executive should have addressed this financial situation since the General Meeting (the highest decision-making body) of September 5, 2019, where it was decided that GASA’s executive must:
1. Inform FINA of the financial situation uncovered by Monday, September 9, 2019.
2. Set-up a Disciplinary Committee to investigate and make recommendations on the financial improprieties uncovered.
3. Based on the advice from the auditor, inform the police.
None of the above decisions of the General Meeting has been executed to date even though the Dorado Speed Swim Club has been making numerous requests, motions and pleas for GASA to address this issue.
Mr. Editor, I stand ready to supply you with minutes of these meetings, the audit report and encourage you to verify the above with the current executive of GASA.
My recommendations to GASA are: they should follow the constitutions of GASA and FINA; and they should abide by the decisions of the highest decision-making body of GASA even if it means some of its own members must answer for their wrong-doings.
This is vital since I believe that it is not enough for persons who have allegedly defrauded the sport to simply resign, or worse, continue as if nothing happened.

Yours sincerely,
Nicholas Fraser, BSc (PE & Sport), MBA (Sport Administration)
Former National record holder, former Coach, parent of a swimmer and reader of Kaieteur News.