Major development experienced in 2022 by Sports sector

The sports sector experienced phenomenal growth in 2022 and is expected to grow further this year with its $7B GUY allocation, according to Culture, Youth and Sport Minister, Charles Ramson Jr.

Ramson Jr was at the time defending the country’s largest budget on Tuesday in the National Assembly.

“When I came to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, our ministry previously had $2.4 billion. This year, our ministry is getting $7 billion and I would like to take the opportunity to thank His Excellency, President Ali for all of the support, guidance, the direction that he has given to me and the ministry in the last year.  For sports, it has been a phenomenal year for us,” the minister told the house.

It was disclosed that in 2022, the ministry implemented a number of projects to further propel the sports sector while creating a cohesive environment for seasoned and budding athletes.

As such, the government expended money for the construction of mini-stadiums at Anna Regina and Mackenzie.

It was pointed out that transformational works are currently ongoing at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. The athletic tracks in New Amsterdam and Linden are also being transformed.

To this end, the National Stadium also benefitted from a major renovation.  In addition, the government commenced construction of a new doubles court, a racket hall at the National Racquet Centre and an all-weather cricket training facility.

Further, the government, since returning to office in August 2020, constructed 92 community grounds, 55 of which were constructed in 2022, with 21 received lighting systems.

Meanwhile, it was noted that Guyana remains the first country in Concacaf to secure FIFA for school programmes.

It was disclosed that the ministry in an effort to expand the sports academy programme has hired certified coaches to run the nurseries.

Minister Ramson highlighted that the ‘teach them young’ swim camp benefitted over 1,600 children and the programme was successfully implemented with not a single incident. This year, the minister said the government will continue to host Independence Day celebration in a new region, similar to last year’s celebration in Anna Regina, Region Two.

It was noted that for the first time, the government will introduce a youth category for the Guyana prize for Literature, which was reintroduced when the PPP/C Administration returned to office.  Additionally, the event is expected to culminate into a literary arts festival during this year’s Mashramani celebrations.