The series of West Indies Cricket Board town-hall meetings hosted by President Whycliffe “Dave” Cameron and Vice President Emmanuel Nanthan are still to be hosted in two main territories, Trinidad & Tobago and Leeward Islands.
As announced after the meeting on August 7 in Jamaica, the next meeting is due in Antigua on a date to be announced.
Efforts to host a meeting in the T&T could not be finalised from as far back as June 2015 when the President’s office made contact.
In a letter dated June 22 addressed to Cameron, from General Secretary, T&TCB, Arjoon Ramlal, the letter, which is attached, outlines an inability for the T&T affiliates to agree to a location to the benefit of what the town hall meeting was to achieve.
The President while visiting for the Caribbean Premier League final, agreed to return to a venue and time suitable for all affiliates.
The President and his team remain assured that one of the most efficient ways to re-engage the cricketing community is through a well-run Territorial Board.
“As the leadership of WICB we decided to decentralize our operations and empower the Territorial Boards through the setup of franchises,” emphasised the President.
He added that this is in keeping with sound business practices. The WICB mandated these requirements and asked for a number of submissions when we setup the Franchise system:
● Separate commercial entity from the Territorial Board
● Business Plan
● The Chairmanship of the Franchise should be separate from the chairmanship of the Territorial Boards
● Hiring of qualified personnel for each franchise including CEOs, coaches and administrative staff with the relevant expertise
● Annual financial reporting as well as development of the franchises
Cameron said: “We have been asking for the programmes for the new franchise year which started in August 2015 and the response has not been forthcoming from all the Franchises. This is pretty much the direction the WICB is aiming at and we think with some consistency in structure, we can achieve desired results with positive outcomes.“
Cameron is proposing that this is the opportunity to put all of the requirements and the spotlight back on the Territorial Boards to develop cricket from the ground up.
“This will be an exercise in vigilance and patience,” noted the President.
A main suggestion coming out the town hall meetings is requesting that the WICB is to hold each Territorial Board accountable for the US $45,000 allocation per month. Those funds are being used to cover expenses for players’ salaries and other administrative costs outlined above.
At all the meetings held so far, a common request is that the WICB be more vigilant in monitoring how the regions account for those funds.
“We accept the charge the stakeholders have made and measures are being put in place to ensure the teams abide by the mandate of the Board,” said the President.
(WICB Media Release)