Former People’s Progressive Party Member of Parliament Neil Kumar has vacated his post as Director of Sport as investigations continue into allegations of equipment being removed from the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall as well as financial documents going missing just after the May 11 elections.
Minister of Education with responsibility for Youth, Sport and Culture, Dr. Nicolette Henry said Kumar has not submitted a letter of resignation but has indicated that he will not be continuing in the position.
Former APNU Member of Parliament, Christopher Jones has since been appointed as the new Director of Sport.
Henry confirmed that several other persons have also vacated their posts and said efforts are currently being made to fill those position at the earliest possible time.
She explained that in the case of Kumar, he had proceeded on leave and during a telephone conversation he indicated that he understood his tenure had ended. “It was a very good conversation and I thanked him for serving in the position.”
Days after the elections, reports surfaced that millions of dollars in sport equipment had been shipped out from the storage area of the Sports Hall which was under the control of the National Sports Commission and its Director Neil Kumar.
Kumar has not been able to give account for the equipment but has denied any wrongdoing.
Henry said an investigation has since been launched to track and recover that equipment which cannot be accounted for.
“I can’t say if it was a case of theft at this point but we are looking to identify where they are and attempt to recover them,” Henry said.
There were also reports of missing financial documents at National Sports Commission.
In this case Kumar claimed that his office was broken into.
The Minister refused to comment in details on the issue when pressed by the media. She claimed she did not want to interfere in the ongoing investigations.
“I will not micro manage, I will not usurp functions and I will not interfere at all stages.”
She said the public will be briefed on all developments at the appropriate time.
The Government of Guyana under the PPP/C had allocated millions of dollars to the National Sports Commission (NSC) which the entity said was spent on procuring sports equipment for distribution around the country. However, many athletic groups have complained about not being beneficiaries.
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