Ja Table Tennis Assn AGM pushed back again
Published:Tuesday | January 21, 2020 | 6:08 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Jamaica Table Tennis Association (JTTA) treasurer Darrington Ferguson says its Annual General Meeting (AGM) has been pushed back to accommodate the association’s audited report. This report will be the first done in the JTTA’s 74 year history.
Ferguson said that after a Special General Meeting in December, the date for the next AGM and election of officers was initially set for this Saturday.
However, with the report now completed, contact has been made with presidential candidate Karen Lym, who has until Thursday to submit any other concerns her team may have before they decide on a new date for the AGM.
“We have instructed the finance chairman (Valery Muir), who leads the audit for the 2018-19 report to contact Ms Lym (on audit completion),” Ferguson said. “So we will have complied with all demands set by the court because we want to put an end to all rifts affecting the association.”
He said that although financial statements were presented at every AGM since president Godfrey Lothian took over in 2013, completing this audits was essential. However, they would only table the report for 2018-2019.
“The executive met and decided that it would be impossible to audit the 74 years before, so we will only doing the 18/19. But all the finances are up,” Ferguson said.
“We understand the challenges, and we welcome this challenge because we are building a sport with transparency, and we want to make sure all I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed. So we want to answer all the concerns. Whether these opinions are factual, they must be heard, and we must have a conversation because we have the same interest in the development of the sport.”
Lym, who lost in a run-off for office in February 2019, protested the elections, saying that the results were unfair and took Lothian to court. The court overturned the result and ruled the JTTA constitution, and the organisation’s renaming to Table Tennis Jamaica, null and void although Lothian was to remain president until new elections are held.
Despite the issues, Ferguson is confident that Lothian will retain the presidency.
“Godfrey Lothian’s administration has done so much for the sport over the last six years, and, therefore, it is no doubt that we will once again be re-elected,” Ferguson said. “Public opinion is very important, and the fact is table tennis has gone to higher levels under Godfrey Lothian. There have not been any complaints from any of our supporters from the last time, and even some who didn’t support us, I believe have joined us.”