Casino gambling legislation…
Religious community to picket National Assembly today

Kaieteur News
January 11, 2007

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In an unprecedented move, the religious community is expected to picket the National Assembly during today's sitting to protest moves by the government to legalise casino gambling.

Faith-based groups charge that government has failed to "count the social cost of this misadventure" and said they will stage the protest as part of their mass campaign to help force legislators to back off from the controversial measure.

Executives and members of the Guyana Council of Churches, (GCC) Guyana Evangelical Fellowship (GEF) and the Georgetown Ministers' Fellowship (GMF) - bodies which represent more than sixteen denominational local churches, met with the media yesterday to reiterate their position on the issue and to inform of the protest action.

They related that the Muslim community has also signaled their intention to be part of the protest.

The Christian Community has also not ruled out approaching the courts in a bid to have the matter resolved since they deem the “arbitrary move by government to licence persons or businesses or institutions to engage in the casino gambling for the Cricket World Cup 2007 and beyond as unconstitutional”.

In support of this position, Senior Executive of the Georgetown Minister's Fellowship Loris Heywood said government's approach thus far on the issue has illustrated little regard for sections 13 and 50 of the Constitution of Guyana. It has not involved civil society in any meaningful consultation on the issue, nor have they engaged Parliament in any form of discussion. He noted that apart from a consultation held with the religious community last March at which that issue was mentioned among others, there were no other such forums.

Heywood informed that on December 6, the Guyana Council of Churches received an invitation to a meeting on gaming legislation after the scheduled date and time.

This Heywood stressed, represents a considerable lapse of judgment, given the deleterious effects that casino gambling has been shown to have in localities, counties and countries.

The community has also drafted a petition with more than 40,000 signatures from persons across the length and breadth of Guyana who are against the proposed legislation.

“ We have sought legal advice and will be putting up a fight in this respect. However the timeframe in which to do this might be against us since the government seems to be railroading this thing to parliament… but we continue to look at this as an alternative” Chairman of the Guyana Council of Churches Reverend Alphonso Porter told this newspaper

He posited that the community is prepared to ‘do everything necessary within the bounds of Christianity to stop the passing of the legislation'.

In this regard the Christian community will also be drawing on the resources, practices and experiences of affiliates in the Caribbean and further afield.

However, it appears as though these efforts are being done in futility since government seems bent on its decision to have the legislation enacted.

A senior functionary of the Guyana Council of Churches disclosed that shortly after their press briefing yesterday morning Prime Minister Samuel Hinds called him to say that while he respected the opinions and concern of the sect, the administration was going ahead with the legislation.

This position was made clear some months by President Jagdeo who stated that the legislation would be passed in time for the CWC 2007 as a development initiative for the tourism sector.

Yesterday the executives of the Christian body further lamented the fact that government has offered no study to show the social impact of legalised gambling in Guyana, but noted that there is a lot of evidence to show that, with the country's weak law enforcement, judicial, legislative and social infrastructure the advent of casino gambling could see Guyana moving from a “ Jurisdiction of concern” in the USA's State Department ‘s money laundering list to a “ Jurisdiction of Primary Concern”.

In this regard Heywood referred to the International Narcotics Strategy Control Report for 2006 and its “ list of vulnerability factors” at Strategy Table for Money Laundering Countries”

Opining that the promotion of immorality and abnormality seems to be becoming the norm in Guyana, Heywood questioned the rationale behind such a move.

This is especially against the backdrop of the upsurge in violent crime, HIV/AIDS, TIPS, child and other forms of abuse and the increased presence of Brazilians in Guyana.

He reiterated that some of the harmful effects of gambling are the creation of false values including the ‘get rich quick” illusion, discouragement of thrift, honest enterprise and a productive work ethic, and the promotion of greed, a vice which is apparently latent in everyone.

Heywood also opined that casino gambling is a temptation to weak-willed persons who frequently develop an addition to gambling, as well as encourages family neglect and domestic violenc, thus undermining the most important unit of society.

The religious leader further noted that gambling contributes to encourage a wastage of money which would be used for productive purposes.

Noting that surveys all over the world reveal that such gambling results in increased poverty, Heywood stressed that Guyana can ill afford such a development at this time since a recent UN report indicated that some 80% of Guyanese live below the poverty level.

“Casino gambling results in enrichment of a few, and impoverishment of the majority. Additionally, there is an increase in crime, since gamblers tend to engage in crime to obtain money to gamble. There is a pauperisation of gamblers who often will resort to begging in order to gambling or just survive.”

Heywood also pointed out the promotion of opportunities for illegal activity including money laundering, thus leading to corruption in the public or private sectors .

However, speaking with this newspaper Prime Minister Samuel Hinds stated that casino gambling does not hold any more potential for money laundering than any other industry or service.

“The transport services, banking, construction, national resources and other forms of business have all at one point or another been accused of being involved in money laundering.”

He noted that as such the important thing would be to guard against this development, which is what government intends to do with casino gambling.

Meanwhile Chairman of the Guyana Evangelical Church Esworth Williams noted that he had preferred to have been at the forum giving support to some developmental strategy that would ensure job creation and alleviate poverty than opposing a move that has the potential to devastate Guyana.

“With 80% of our people living below the poverty line and all the youths walking the street that cannot find jobs why would anyone want to bring casino gambling into Guyana at this time. It is the poor that will suffer the most from this kind of action and will fuel the get rich quick mentality of some of the youths that has the drug trade flourishing.” He questioned whether the move is not an orchestrated plan by those in charge to further destroy a certain section of the society.

Head of the Guyana Council of Churches Alphonso Porter in acknowledging that some forms of gambling already exist in Guyana, said that gambling is wrong in any form because it involves a gross misuse of money as it redistributes wealth, not in exchange for goods and services, but on the basis of an artificially created risk, involving an appeal to chance where gains of the winners represent the accumulative loss of the losers.

“The very act of gambling is a false way of acquiring and using money. Gambling only thrives because those who promote it play on people's desire for big money at a little outlay…coupled with ignorance of how many must lose, and go on losing, that a few may win.”

Porter opined that it is wrong for government to seek to justify gambling legislation because of the revenue that it can generate, for that which it will bring tragic social consequences for the country.

“If and when government gives support to such gambling, a grave blow will be struck against all those forces of law - religion, education, banking and social reform - working for a creative and responsive approach to the use of the wealth of the nation.”

In response to government's contention that the legislation will bar locals from utilising the casinos, the Christian leader adopted a statement made by the Barbados Evangelical Association when gambling was touted on that island with the same restrictions.

The church group had noted that the suggestion that casinos may be located in the country for tourist gamblers can only be compared to implanting a cancerous cell in the body on the pretext that it can be isolated from the other cells and will not contaminate them

Porter noted that the introduction of casino gambling or the extension of existing form of gambling will be morally, harmfully, economically destructive, socially intolerable and a serious disfigurement of our national heritage.

The Christian community is calling on government not to legalise casino gambling in Guyana for the CWC or at any time. “Government cannot and must not be held to ransom by any stakeholder because it facilitated investors efforts to benefit from tourism and CWC 2007”.

The community is also calling for the consideration of draft legislation to be deferred until after CWC when a national consensus can be reached on the issue after a comprehensive consultation with all stakeholders. The body also calls for all issued licences to be withdrawn.

Full and unbiased legislation, the body says should be made of all research papers on the issue so that government and all Guyanese citizens can learn from the past and not be burdened with repeating the same mistakes other nations have made.

Towards this end the GCC, GEF and GMF have produced a draft document entitled “Legal, Moral Social and Constitutional Considerations in Addressing the Responsibilities of Government with regard to Casino Gambling.

The Christian community throughout Guyana reiterates that it is deeply troubled by the stand taken by the government. There is still time for redress.” Porter stated.

Following the announcement by President Jagdeo about impending legislation, the Muslim community had also registered its displeasure with the idea stating that it is against gambling in any form.

The People National Congress also stated that it was firmly against it citing similar reasons as the religious community.