Zaheer Ali: Dissolve WICB, but keep politics away

Zaheer Ali: Dissolve WICB, but keep politics away
Published on Nov 16, 2015, 7:49 pm AST


GIVING BACK: Former Trinidad and Tobago cricketer Zaheer Ali speaks to the NGC Academy during a classroom session.


Former Trinidad and Tobago cricketer and chairman of the “Working Committee” which focuses on the development of West Indies Cricket at the Hugh Wooding Law School, Zaheer Ali is supporting the Caricom cricket review panel's recommendation that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) be dissolved, but does not want to see governance of West Indies Cricket in the hands of persons who may be actively and directly involved in Caribbean politics.

“I am in full support of the dissolution of the West Indies Cricket Board Incorporation but at the same time I reject and immediately dismiss the idea of placing the governance of West Indies Cricket in the hands of persons who may be actively and directly involved in Caribbean politics or may have a political flavour,” Ali said in a press release.

He further stated that “We must be reminded that the many administrations of West Indies Cricket have been accused in the past of nepotism, discrimination and corruption and it is hardly digestible and believable that placing the governance of West Indies Cricket directly into the political domain would consolidate our vulnerable position.”

Ali is also advocating for the WICB to be re-incorporated in one of the Caribbean islands that have adopted the Caribbean Court of Justice as its final Court of Appeal.

He said that the present climate in West Indies Cricket is in urgent need of legal intervention in order to firmly uphold the rule of law, respect for natural justice, principles of democracy and transparency and accountability which are the issues that are affecting the governance of the game in the Caribbean.

“The stakeholders of West Indies Cricket must be empowered by having access to an entity like the Caribbean Court of Justice in order to hold the West Indies Cricket Board Incorporation accountable for its decisions,” he added.

Ali is also recommending that a Caribbean Council for the development of West Indies Cricket, comprising a representative from each cricketing island be established to assist and advise the WICB in reviewing its present Articles of Incorporation and by-laws for the effective and efficient administration of the game.

“I further recommend that the Articles of Incorporation with its subsequent by-laws for the administration of West Indies cricket be reviewed and amended with transparency, accountability, reasonableness and fairness in mind,” he said.

“This should be complemented by built-in mechanisms for effectively monitoring the administration of West Indies Cricket and provision of mediation forums to effectively address disputes and disagreements,” Ali added.