Basseterre, St. Kitts (March 28, 2007): Locals have stepped forward and have indicated a strong interest in helping the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and Culture protect sporting facilities and conserve electricity.
During an interview for SKNIS' radio programme "Perspectives," Acting Director of Sport Dave Connor said that a recent appeal for assistance was made yet again, in a press release which documented the various types of wanton vandalism that plague sporting facilities at the Gardens, Newtown, Sandy Point, Newton Ground and Saddler's.
Since that news article was disseminated on March 18, the Department of Sport has had positive meetings with sporting organizations and received feed back from community members who are willing to help. One such case was mentioned in Cayon.
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I want to "commend the Cayon community and the Cayon Police Station who have already indicated to the Park Supervisor (Orville Maynard) that they support the press release and they support what we are trying to do." Connor revealed. He said that they (the community) are sending a strong warning to vandals that they would not sit idly by and allow the facility to be destroyed or defaced.
"This is what we want all the other communities to jump onboard and say," he stressed.
Connor explained that it was important for the facilities to be kept in top condition as they are vital to the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and Cultures sport tourism initiatives. He cited the passage of the Cricket World Cup through St. Kitts and Nevis and noted that the same facilities will be used by the young cricketers from the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) currently on island as well as other groups slated to come during the year.
The Department of Sport is finalizing its management policy for sporting complexes. The strategy mirrors that used for community centers, which relies heavily on community members forming committees and sharing management responsibility with the government.
The acting Director of Sport explained why this is critical for the protection of the facilities.
"These facilities were built for use by the people and we believe the people should share in ensuring that the facilities are & maintained and managed properly and we want to ensure that we have a good working relationship with all the communities," Connor stated. "People in the community have to stand up and be counted and let the vandals know that they won't stand for it."
The full interview with Mr. Connor can be heard on Sunday's rebroadcast of SKNIS Perspectives at 1:00 p.m. on ZIZ Radio or anytime on demand at www.gov.kn by clicking the audio/visual link.
