This afternoon, representatives of eligible voters will gather at the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) headquarters at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown to vote on the future leaders of the vital sport organisation.
The GOA’s Electoral General Meeting (EGM) has been a work in progress for some time, since members of the Association voted to adopt constitutional changes that would see former President KA Juman- Yassin being ineligible to lead the organisation.
On the eve of the election, Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr, during an invited comment to Guyana Times Sport, indicated that he has been paying attention to the goings-on, but has been careful to avoid interference.
Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr has weighed in on the GOA election set for today
“I’m aware that the GOA election is happening, but from a Government standpoint we stay very far away from that, because I don’t want anybody to say that, you know, we’re interfering. But I’m very happy to see that they are having an election,” Ramson Jr told this publication.
As such, the Minister went on to say that “it’s about time” the election happened, given the public interest it has garnered over the past few months.
The Sport Minister shared, “We want to see the election happen, because it’s about time. Having had their Constitution amended last year, maybe around the middle of last year or so, it was expected that these elections would have happened even sooner.”
“I was following what was happening, what was happening in relation to the delay, because this is something that the country is interested in. A lot of people have asked me about why is this not happening and so, I have to have that interest to give them a response,” he added.
After the sport associations go to the polls later this afternoon, Ramson Jr will be awaiting the opportunity to collaborate with the new GOA leadership, since, he reminded of President Dr Irfaan Ali’s charge for the bodies to work together for sport’s development.
“Also, when His Excellency [President Irfaan Ali] had made a statement towards the end of the year, last year, when one of the issues arose about the treatment overseas for athletes and it was discussed for our sports conference; we have made some commitments coming out of that, but it has to be on the basis of having that engagement with the new GOA,” he divulged.
Ramson Jr further stated, “So, we look forward to the conclusion of the election. I’ll meet with them shortly thereafter, so that we could know how we could partner in continuing to develop the sport and having the kind of representation for the country that’s important to all of us.”
Reportedly, Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) President Godfrey Munroe and Robin Singh will be contesting the GOA Presidency, while the Presidents of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), Guyana Tennis Association (GTA) and Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) Steve Ninvalle, Cristy Campbell and Phillip Fernandes respectively will be vying for the Vice President position.
