| |
Contact:
Primus Hutchinson
Wednesday, February 25, 2004 - Henry Mangal, Permanent Secretary in the
Department of Youth and Sports in the Ministry of Education, Human Resource
Development, Youth and Sports on Friday, February 20, appealed to
administrators, sponsors and the public to support national sporting
personalities in attaining international prominence. He was at the time
addressing the National Sports Awards ceremony at the National Cultural Centre,
in observance of St. Lucia’s 25th Anniversary of Independence.
In appealing stakeholders of sports on the island to be more proactive in
executing properly focused and objective programmes he said, “We must acquire a
culture of not just praising performance, but also encouraging efforts, for many
great sportsmen and sportswomen roll out defeat and adversity to achieve
excellence, because some one urged them on when they were down”. Mr. Mangal also
believes that sponsors need to view sports as a vehicle guaranteeing social
stability, which is critical for economic viability and business profitability.
Minister for Education, Human Resource Development, Youth and Sports, Honourable
Mario Michel took the occasion to share some light on concerns being expressed
regarding the cost of utilizing sporting facilities, particularly the Beausejour
Cricket Ground.
He said that the Beausejour Cricket Ground was an expensive facility to
construct and is costly to maintain, with an annual loan repayment of over three
million dollars. The Sports Minister also indicated that it was being maintained
by a staff of fourteen, who are being paid annual salaries of about two hundred
thousand dollars. The funds for all of these expenses, whether for the loan
payments or the maintenance cost Mr. Michel said, must come form the surpluses
generated by the National Lotteries Authority and by Sports St. Lucia
Incorporated.
“It is therefore absurd for anyone to expect that events and activities can
merely be scheduled for the Beausejour Cricket Ground and that no cost or
charges will be levied in respect of the use of the ground” Mr. Michel said.
At that special sports awards ceremony, Athlete Emma Gene Evans won the
Sportswoman of the Year award and National Cricketer, Darren Sammy, the
Sportsman of the Year for 2003.
|
