GCB forces adjournment of CWI AGM

…claims Skerritt used compromised means to debar them from voting

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and by extension, the highly-anticipated presidential election has been postponed to April 11, owing to the non-attendance of several members.

In a missive on Sunday morning immediately after the decision to adjourn the meeting was taken, CWI explained the reason for the postponement.
The CWI missive is as follows:
“The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was due to start at 10:00 am this morning (Sunday), was adjourned as there was a lack of quorum.
The meeting therefore could not proceed to business as the CWI Articles of Association stipulate that nine (9) representatives of the Full Members need to be present in person to constitute a quorum. All eight (8) representatives duly authorised to represent the Jamaica Cricket Association, Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB), Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) and the Windward Islands Cricket Board were present.

“Despite having previously authorised their representatives to attend, when the roll was called there were no representatives present from the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) nor the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA).
“The Articles of Association provide that if there is no quorum within thirty minutes from the time appointed for the meeting, it shall stand adjourned to the next business day or to such other time and place as the Board of Directors may determine, and at the adjourned meeting no other business may be transacted.
“Attempts to reach the representatives from the BCA and GCB were unsuccessful. The meeting was eventually adjourned at 10:50 am.
The CWI Board of Directors subsequently held an Emergency Board Meeting at midday today, Sunday 28th March 2021, and decided that the AGM will resume on Sunday 11th April 2021 at 10:00 am ECT/09:00am Jamaica Time.”
It is important to note that the quorum is set at nine representatives.
Hours after its non-attendance, the GCB explained its absence from the AGM, citing concerns about financial matters and foul play by the current CWI Executives.
The GCB press release, penned by GCB Vice President Drubahadur stated:
“As the Vice President of Guyana Cricket Board and an appointed representative of the GCB, at all CWI General Meetings, it is unacceptable to condone the numerous breaches of the CWI Articles of Association on Financial Matters And Governance Issues.
“The GCB has written to CWI corporate secretary on numerous occasions regarding the conduct of the AGM of 28th March especially as it relates to the financial matters, and the responses were unacceptable with adversarial views as we maintain that only shareholders can alter the Articles of Association. I am aware of all the required standards for financial accountability and would endeavour to adhere to them.
The GCB is also reliably informed that plans are being formulated to attempt to debar the GCB of its voting rights as a CWI shareholder. We were made aware of a legal opinion sought by CWI without board approval from a source that is compromised on the matter of Guyana’s situation regarding the Cricket Administration Act. We are prepared to stand our ground until there is full compliance with the CWI articles.”

Controversy over Guyana’s vote
In documents obtained by Guyana Times Sport, this publication was able to ascertain that a legal presentation was, indeed, made surrounding the legality of Guyana’s vote at the now-postponed CWI AGM.
In a letter to CWI’s Secretary/Legal Counsel, Alanna Medford-Singh, Devindra Kissoon on London House Chambers’ behalf, outlined the timeline of GCB’s court troubles, in conflict with the Guyana Cricket Administration Act (Chapter 21:03) and other administrators who had concerns about the legality of GCB’s existence and electoral process.
Kissoon’s analysis of the situation stated: “In light of the foregoing, it is our view that (i) There currently is no lawfully-appointed executive of the GCB, that being the case since the Act was commenced in 2014, (ii) the election held on January 2020 is unlawful, and in light of the Court’s ruling in the Kalladeen matter, in any event any such election would be/are irrelevant, and (iii) the currently represented GCB is not entitled to participate in the upcoming Cricket West Indies election given its defunct status.”
As such, the lawyer drew the conclusion that: “We are of the firm view that there is currently no lawfully-appointed Guyana Cricket Board. The impact of this state of affairs ought to be considered by the Board, especially to consider whether the GCB can vote in the upcoming elections. Additionally, consideration ought to made as to whether any person who unlawfully holds themselves out to be a Board member of Cricket West Indies offends any other law outside of Guyana. This opinion ought to be circulated to all member boards for their information and action if needed.”
The conclusion being the cause of GCB’s belief that Guyana would have been prevented from voting in the CWI election.
Back in 2019, the services of Kissoon and London House Chambers were retained by then recently-elected CWI President Ricky Skerritt, on the part of the regional cricket board. This retention of the lawyer’s services coincided with Skerritt’s initial visit to Guyana; with India Games in Guyana, youth cricket and GCB’s legal woes on the CWI bosses agenda for discussion.