Way clear for Kaieteur National Park extension
THE way is finally clear for the Kaieteur National Park to be expanded. The necessary legislation in the Kaieteur National Park (Amendment) Bill 2000, was yesterday assented to by President Bharrat Jagdeo, the government announced. The bill will also ensure that the rights of the Amerindian villagers of Chenapau and others in the extended boundaries of the Kaieteur National Park remain intact. The bill was passed in the National Assembly on July 27 without the support of the Alliance For Guyana (AFG), whose representative Dr Rupert Roopnaraine had argued that because a matter in relation to the bill was before the court any action should await a court ruling. Following the AFG's submission, Leader of the Opposition, Mr Desmond Hoyte whose People's National Congress and The United Force (TUF) had earlier lent their support for passing the bill, said he too felt that the approval should await such a ruling. TUF maintained its support. The Kaieteur National Park (KNP) was established by Act 41 of 1929 with an area of about 45 square miles which was subsequently reduced in 1975 to 25 square miles. The Kaieteur Falls located in the Kaieteur National Park, considered one of the national wonders of the world, became known internationally by Arlington Brown who was the first European to see it. Prime Minister Sam Hinds who successfully piloted the bill through its stages in the House, had noted that the government, on its ascension to office in 1992, inherited calls for the KNP to be extended and in October 1994 made the decision. He said too that between then and 1999, surveys were executed and consultations held with residents of the area on the plans by the government.
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