In his post Cabinet media conference last Thursday, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Gary Hunt was reported to have said that Trinidad and Tobago could learn from Jamaica in its own quest for sporting superiority and success.The Minister was quoted as saying, "clearly they are doing something right and we can learn from our neighbours. We intend to collaborate on this matter closely."
The Minister in a self-serving stroke geared towards taking undue credit, was also quoted as saying that the sterling performance of our athletes at the Beijing Games was as a direct result of the programmes initiated by his Government.
For such an unabashed, unashamed, brazen and opportunistic statement, Minister Hunt certainly deserves gold for political indecency.
Minister Hunt’s brashness is a direct result of his unfamiliarity and ignorance of the sporting programmes and policies indoctrinated in Jamaica for the past fifteen years.
Minister Hunt is completely unaware that for the last three years the Jamaican Government has financed its football team to the tune of 100,000 USD per month and has covered all costs for housing, training and allowances to its footballers.
Minister Hunt is unconscious to the fact that the Jamaican Government has for the last ten years, funded in full all practice matches for its footballers to retain a spot in the game’s foremost competition.
Minister Hunt sits in political comatose, oblivious to the fact that Jamaica has a continuous National Sports Policy (and that Trinidad &Tobago has none) which is not subject to arbitrary modification when Governments change or when one Sports Minister succeeds another.
Minister Hunt simply does not know that Jamaica values its sporting programme as a means of combating the societal evils of crime and unemployment.
He is insensitive to the fact that in 1998 when the “Reggae Boyz” took to the world stage, PM PJ Patterson said publicly that for the year crime was reduced by 30% and that this was due solely to Jamaica qualifying for the 1998 World Cup in France.
This PNM Government are experts in “joining the bandwagon” for political mileage. The euphoria of victory brings all sorts of promises that never materialize.
The nation would never forget four years ago when they hopped unto the George Bovell bus and pledged an “Olympic” swimming pool. But when the fireworks of Bovell’s success had dwindled, the assurance of that swimming pool drowned and died a PNM inflicted death.
Our national footballers and cricketers too, have suffered the effects of maladministration in sports by the uncaring PNM.
Minister Hunt now takes credit for our athletes in Beijing and the circumstantial fact that their success comes during his government’s watch.
Utilizing such logic, then the fact that Trinidad &Tobago sits in the top ten in the global homicidal index, has climbed up the world poverty list and competes for gold in the corruption index are all benefits attained under PNM rule.
The nation has now been promised a sports master plan by 2016. Wishful thinking from the Minister whose myopia seems to extend beyond his knowledge of sports and into politics, for by then his Government would have been rejected by an already dispirited nation.
Jack Warner | Member of Parliament Chaguanas West.
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