By Neto Baptiste
President of the Jennings Cricket Club, Glen Miller, has accused the parliamentary representative for the St. Mary’s North Constituency, Molwyn Joseph, of neglecting sports and the development of sporting facilities in the community of Jennings.
“The honourable Mr. Joseph has been around now for about 40 years [as a politician] and all of our facilities [in Jennings] are non-existent. The basketball court never got lights and you know the cricket just started back [playing in Jennings] after about 20-plus years, but we used to have basketball teams and we had to go to Liberta and all over to practice, so I am disappointed in Mr. Joseph because Mr. Joseph has been around for so many years and the same community he lives in, born in, played sports in, he has turned his back on it,” he said.
His accusation comes on the heels of a call from Joseph for more community-based sporting activities, arguing that it aids in the cohesiveness of the community and its residence.
According to Miller however, he has personally made several presentations to Joseph as to what is required to bring sports back to where it once was in the Jennings community with the last being some three years ago.
“Not only that we’ve had meetings, but he’s asked us for estimates, he’s asked us for plans in terms of a clubhouse and everything and I gave him a plan about two or three years now so we have everything and as a matter of a fact, if he needs one right now I can go and print one and take it for him,” the former player said.
The administrator said members of the community are doing as much as they can in terms of trying to assist the young sportsmen and women from the constituency but said Joseph needs to do more.
“There is a community group with guys based in North America and different parts of the world and we’re putting something together, so hopefully, we can get it off the ground but what I am saying is that I am very disappointed with Mr. Joseph and he knows that I am not talking because I just want to talk because I’ve gone to him many times, and as a matter of a fact, I’ve said this in his face that I think he is a good minister in terms of with the government, but when it comes to his community, the place he was born, he has neglected the place and it’s the truth, the evidence is there to see,” Miller said. In a recent interview Joseph, who is also the country’s health minister, said cricketers and sportsmen in general, do better at the national and international level once they would have come through the ranks of the village competitions.
