Sparks Fly at CGF General Assembly 2013
View(s):Controversies raged at the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly held in Glasgow, Scotland on 16 August 2013.
On the sidelines of the General Assembly, delegates from participating countries were provided with the opportunity of visiting the athlete’s villages and the venues for the various sports disciplines for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, which were found to be progressing in a most satisfactory manner and to be of good quality.
Prince Tunku Imran
However, the issues in contention were the governance and management procedures adopted by the Executive Board of the CGF.
Following a review undertaken by the Executive Board of the operational base of the CGF, its corporate structure and its tax status in the UK, a decision was taken to:
1) Transfer the federations operational base to Kuala Lumpur with effect from 31 August 2014, which could result in savings in excess of pounds sterling 925,000 within the next quadrennial,
2) Make all existing UK staff redundant.
3) Undertake a recruitment programme early in 2014, across all positions to ensure a fully operational team by 31 August 2014.
The Board had also informed the staff of the above mentioned decisions.
The General Assembly of Member States unanimously opposed the decision that was conveyed to them as a “fait accompli”prior to consulting the member states in General Assembly, which is the supreme policy-making organ of the CGF. As such, this decision taken by the CGF was deemed not to be in keeping with the rules of procedures and modalities of functioning of the CGF and a stay of such decisions was unanimously voted by the General Assembly, until an Extra Ordinary General Assembly meeting is convened in the near future to further discuss the issue. It was also mentioned that negotiations with the host country, which is the conventional seat of the Commonwealth, be
Hemasiri Fernando
undertaken to explore cost reduction measures, including tax concessions.It was concluded that such a decision being taken whilst preparations are underway for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, will demoralize the present staff, which can be counterproductive.
The Sri Lanka delegation played a leading and vocal role in the deliberations concerning this contentious issue at the CGF General Assembly. Recalling that most of the hosting of the past Commonwealth Games have been shared between countries that have had more than one chance of hosting the Games, Sri Lanka also initiated a draft resolution, with the unanimous support of the Asian Member States, to encourage new and more bidders to host the Commonwealth Games. The draft resolution requested the Executive
Board to approve the undertaking of further research, including SWOT analyses, with a view to enabling a larger cross-section of countries and regions to have opportunities of hosting the Games, in order to encourage equity in Sport Development in the respective countries and regions. This Draft Resolution was approved by the General Assembly.
The CGF General Assembly was presided over by Prince Tunku Imran. Prince Edward of the United Kingdom of Great Britain was also in attendance.
The Sri Lanka delegation to the Commonwealth Games General Assembly comprised of Mr. Hemasiri Fernando, President, National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL), Mr. Maxwell De Silva, Secretary General (NOCSL) and Mr. Prithiviraj Perera, Executive Committee Member (NOCSL).
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