Sammy to get SVG Citizenship
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PRIME MINISTER of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has slammed Wycliffe ‘Dave’ Cameron, President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), for remarks believed to have been directed at West Indies captain Darren Sammy.
News coming out of SVG states that following that country’s adjournment of Parliament last Tuesday (Apr. 5), PM Gonsalves, in an exclusive interview with wwwsportcarribe.com., had commented on the issues between the WICB and the only two-time winners of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup - West Indies senior male team, with emphasis on Sammy’s comments.
Noting that the CARICOM Heads of Government had been calling for the disbandment of the Cameron-led WICB, Gonsalves reportedly said there is a way out of the situation and “Keith Mitchell and CARICOM Governments are very serious of pushing the matter to a real change in the administration of West Indies cricket and it will come”.
He also said, “The barons of the past will not be able to stem the tide of the progress of the people and for real democratic governance of a public good to take place with openness and transparency.”
The online media outlet reported that during his address in Parliament, Dr. Gonsalves blasted Cameron who on Sunday (Apr. 3), following the West Indies female and male teams victories in Kolkata, India, tweeted: “When is the last time a critic paid one of your bills? Always remember that when you start to give them your energy.”
Cameron’s tweet is widely believed to be in response to what Sammy said during the post-match interview.
Sammy, who had dedicated the win to fans in the Caribbean and the Diaspora and was in high praise of the management team, a CARICOM Head of Government and the players, used the opportunity during the interview to vent his frustration over long-standing issues with the WICB.
The all-rounder declared that his team “felt disrespected by the Board coming into the tournament” and he sided with the CARICOM Heads of Government in their call for the disbandment of the President and Executives of the WICB.
“I want to thank the Heads of CARICOM. Throughout this tournament they have been supporting the team,” Sammy said.
Sammy also extended a special thank you to Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell and took another swipe at the Board.
“We have gotten emails, we have gotten calls…Prime Minister Mitchell, I know what he is trying to do and I really want to thank him. He sent a very inspiring email to the team this morning and I am yet to hear from our own Cricket Board. That is very disappointing!”
His gratitude and that of his teammates were extended to the Team Manager, pointing out another of the Board’s weaknesses.
“We had a new Manager in Rawl Lewis, who has never managed a team before. We had no uniforms, no printing, The trouble he went through to just get us in this uniform. I got to give credit to the entire team here.”
Cameron was known to be in India at the time and several hours after Sammy’s statement, a press release came out from the WICB’s Headquarters in Antigua in which Sammy was admonished by the President.
Dr. Gonsalves was however in support of Sammy and condemned the Board’s approach to the issue.
“I support Darren Sammy and his team, Staphanie Taylor and her team, the Under-19 and I condemn the approach of the current Board, both in terms of its structures and the articulation of some of its leading personnel including David Cameron.”
In addition to his support of Sammy, the longest-serving Head of Government in the region also congratulated the three victorious teams, noting that the entire Caribbean region was and still is in support of the despite the limitations imposed by the WICB.
“A collective expression as to what is magnificent in our Caribbean civilisation...team efforts by women and men and earlier in the year by the young males, an extraordinary tribute all to our civilisation. And the spirit of the people, you can’t break it; even at the time when the organisers of cricket are playing the fool with it.
The people themselves were participating by their skill, by their effort and with the grace of God and the support of the Caribbean people. They have lifted themselves and the region and they have realised their possibilities despite all the shackles and limitations imposed upon them by circumstances of history, and by a Board which is behaving in a paternalistic manner and seeking to manage a public good as though it is a private interest.”
It was also reported that Sammy was on visit to that country at the time of Dr. Gonsalves’s statements and was invited to the Parliament, where the Prime Minister announced that he would receive full citizenship from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
It was further reported that following the announcement, Sammy was seen teaching Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves the West Indies Champion Dance, which is rapidly growing in popularity among fans in the Caribbean and around the cricketing world.
