The wheels aren't spinning - Chung points to lack of support as he gives up cycling presidency

Interim president of the Jamaica Cycling Federation Dennis Chung said that the lack of support from the association's members is the main reason behind his decision not to offer himself for election at this Sunday's annual general meeting (AGM).

Chung, who has been the interim president since July of this year, told The Gleaner in an interview yesterday that the federation is in need of special attention, but insisted that he does not have time to run its affairs.

"I became interim president in July, and we were supposed to have an AGM in September to permanently elect a board, and so if we had a good turnout at the time, I would have gone forward and sought to get into the post," said Chung.

"We had about four people turn up, and so we tried to have an AGM in October, and we still had four people turn up for it," he said.

CHANGE IN CIRCUMSTANCES

"When I was asked to step up to the post, I was told that there would be a lot of support there, and I had expressed the situation that I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to it," said Chung, the CEO of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica.

"The truth is that there are certain circumstances that have overtaken me during that time, and so as I said, if it was September that we had the AGM, maybe I would have gone forward, but right now, I don't have the time," Chung added.

Chung pointed out that it is now best for someone else to step in and run the federation because he was not able to secure the support off all its members.

"The other thing is that there are still some people who believe that you can do the same thing and get a different result, but you can't because you need fundamental change, and that change is going to need new strategy, a new way of thinking and just the time to do it, and I don't have the time," Chung said.

"I think when you have two AGMs and have to call it off, it means that there is not a lot of interest," he said. "I would be basically doing something that the community doesn't seem all that interested in, and so it doesn't make sense. If a lot of interest was there and support, then it's a different thing, but it is very difficult to move forward with something and see that there is a very small amount of interest."

The AGM is set for Sunday at the Jamaica Olympic Association headquarters. The Gleaner, however, could not confirm the names of those expected to vie for the top posts.

robert.bailey@gleanerjm.com