NSC Board a prerequisite for appointment of Director of Sport

The wait for a Director of Sport…

…NSC, other entities to move to Main Street

By Jemima Holmes

For weeks on end, Sport administrators, athletes and media operatives alike have waited patiently for a new Director of Sport (DoS) to be appointed. The last DoS, Christopher Jones, has been fired since early August.
Now, almost two months later, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, has advised that the wait will be prolonged.
He said on Tuesday: “What’s the holdup is really the National Sports Commission (NSC). I had mentioned before that the NSC had expired since August 2019. Interestingly, even though the Act is what creates the position of the Director of Sport, you would have had a renewal of a contract even in its absence. I don’t intend to break the law.”
The Minister shared that it is in his best interest and that of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) to act according to law in getting the matter sorted out and established before a DoS can be appointed.
Minister Ramson Jr. was also careful to disclose that, in the interest of clarity and transparency, Neil Kumar’s job at the Ministry is in no way involved with the NSC or DoS position. In fact, he shared that Kumar is only an advisor to the Minister on all aspects of the Minister’s portfolio, viz: Culture, Youth and Sport.
“He has an office, but not at the National Sports Commission,” Ramson was quoted as saying.

Moving on up!
“So, my intention is to move all the programmes – meaning Youth, Sport and Culture – into our Main Street office,” Minister Ramson disclosed in regard to a short-term plan for the functionality of the Ministry.
With accessibility in mind, and a timeframe of 3-4 weeks for accomplishment of this task, the Sport Minister explained that he intends to have all the branches of his portfolio housed in the same compound.
“So, we’re making arrangements. I’ll move over into the building, along with the major areas of our administration; and then we intend to move the major elements of the Youth Department to the other building, as well as Sport,” Ramson divulged.
The Minister explained the necessity for centralisation of all divisions of the MCYS by stating, “When you have them operating at many different locations, accessibility is an issue. Being able to get documents very quickly has been an issue. Having people come and meet me at a particular time when I have a spot…it’s not workable when you have a tight schedule.”

More importantly, Ramson shared why entities like the NSC may benefit from a move to Main Street; and he noted that arrangements are almost worked out.
“The Sports Commission, they don’t have that many employees centrally located, many of them are on part-time work, or across the regions; so yes, it’s got enough space to do that. We’ve already examined it logistically,” the Minister posited.