Dear Editor,
Reference is made to a recent video highlighted on social media of an athletic track in the village of Saint Ignatius Village in Central Rupununi, shrouded in dust with athletes and spectators alike trying to take refuge from the choking dust. One can only imagine the toll that the Saharan like dust would have taken on the respiratory systems of those in attendance.
This begs the question, as to why in this day and age has the Rupununi, a region of immense and rich sporting heritage and potential, not benefited from an all-weather sports facility, especially against the backdrop of oil money driving infrastructural development across the country?
The time is nigh for the Rupununi to have an all-weather facility, where the various sports disciplines such as football, cricket and athletics can be housed under one roof, with facilities of the highest standards, that can hone and grow the talents of the athletes of the Rupununi.
One has to look with pity and bitter disappointment at the sports grounds in the Rupununi, particularly those within the Township of Lethem. Large mega stores and sparkling asphalted streets are testament to the development the town is undergoing. But contrast that with the dust bowls that serve as football pitches and athletic tracks in the Township and it is clear that despite all the infrastructural development ongoing, the development of the Town’s human resources including its young athletes is furthest from the minds of the policymakers and politicians that can bring about real meaningful change.
It is time for the Town Council of Lethem, the Regional Administration of Region 9, and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport together with local bodies and entities such as the Rupununi Football Association and other sports associations in the Rupununi to sit down and work on a sustainable pathway for the development of sports. An all-weather sports facility is a priority! And for a region that has voted overwhelmingly for the current administration in the last few election cycles, it is time for the residents of the Rupununi to demand more for its athletes. Nothing less can suffice!