MP Shallow to serve out term as CWI president

North Leeward MP and Tourism Minister, Kishore Shallow, says he will complete his current term as president of Cricket West Indies (CWI), which ends in 2027, despite his parliamentary and ministerial positions.

“I’ve decided to finish my term at Cricket West Indies. That is with the support of the prime minister [Godwin Friday],” Shallow told iWitness News on Sunday.

“There have been other persons around the region — leaders, politicians — who have supported the decision as well. I have the support of the board that I should continue and finish my term,” he said.

In March, Shallow was nominated unopposed to serve a second consecutive three-year term as president of CWI, the second successive election in which he was elected unopposed.

At that time, he was a candidate for the then-opposition New Democratic Party in the general election in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which was held on Nov. 27 and saw both Shallow and the party triumphing.

Since then, his position as president of CWI has come under further scrutiny, with some calling for him to step down.

However, Shallow told iWitness News on Sunday that he intends to complete his term as president of CWI and not stand for re-election.

He said he had recorded a statement and would release it in the coming days, explaining his decision.

“But there are other members of parliaments who sit with me at the ICC (International Cricket Council) Board, so it’s not uncommon by any means,” he said, referring to the world governing body for cricket.

Shallow also noted that he is not the first parliamentarian to be president of CWI.

iWitness News noted to Shallow that being a parliamentary representative and a minister of government are both full-time jobs.

“… but being the President of Cricket West Indies is not,” Shallow told iWitness News.

“In fact, there are many executive officers across the Caribbean who serve on different boards as chairs or directors. It is no different,” he said, adding that there is a misconception that the CWI presidency is an executive position and a full-time job.

“It is not, and the evidence is there clearly to show our secretariat is based in Antigua; I am not. I have never been — in fact, no president has ever been based at the secretariat,” Shallow told iWitness News, adding that this alone shows that the post is not a full-time job.

“Maybe the term ‘president’ is what is misleading. In fact, there’s been in the pipeline a change of that title to ‘Chairman of the Board’, because we know, we realise that people have … sort of the impression that it is a full-time gig. It is an executive position.”

Shallow said he would be surprised if the majority of his constituents in North Leeward were not happy to have him as CWI president, adding that most Vincentians are pleased to have one of their own in the post.

“So, I don’t think it is really an issue, maybe for a small minority who may have personal grievance with me, and probably others supporters of the other party, but generally the sober-minded, objective Vincentian, they are quite happy for me to continue in the position, once it is not going to compromise my role as minister, and I could guarantee them it won’t.

“And if, by chance, in any event, I believe that the workload is too much, then I’d be the first person to put up my hand and say, you know that I’m going to step aside from being the president of Cricket West Indies. But at this current point, and in consultation with the people that matter at Cricket West Indies, they are of the view that it is quite manageable and there’s absolutely no conflict of interest.”

Asked if there were things at CWI that he wanted to see through before quitting, Shallow said, “absolutely”, adding that this also informed his decision.

“So, we have a strategic plan 2024 to 2027. Ideally, we want to see most of those plans implemented,” he said, adding that the board has achieved about 70% of the reforms.

“It would be great to see closer to 100% implemented. And I’m confident that in the remaining time I have in office, we’ll get very close to that 100% mark.”

Shallow said the commercial arrangement for CWI is challenging.

“… and the way to stabilise our finances is to improve our commercial component, our commercial sector, really, for the organisation, and that is by doing some restructuring, separating our commercial arm from our cricket arm operations and so on.”

He said his board is also strengthening its relationship with ICC, “getting a more equitable share of the financial distribution that exists”, and CWI has made strides on this.

“And, with another few months, couple years, we could certainly see that through. So yes, it is because of the work that we have started, and the truth is, from the get-go, I’ve said fixing or addressing the meaningful issues at Cricket West Indies is not going to be an overnight fix, and I’m committed to impacting them in a positive way. And, hopefully, by the end of this term, I would have done so, along with having a succession plan in place, which is also critical for the organisation.

Shallow acknowledged that someone else could finish the work he had started at CWI, but added that he had the support of the board to continue.

“… all the directors I’ve spoken to have indicated that they wish for me to stay on, and I have their full support. In fact, I’ve received formal letters from both, congratulating me since my appointment as the Minister of Tourism and Maritime Affairs, and wishing me success in both endeavours, meaning that locally in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and at Cricket West Indies.”