Govt MP blasts church on opposition to ‘casino' legislation

Kaieteur News
January 12, 2007

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Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee yesterday tabled the controversial Gambling Prevention (Amendment) Bill in the National Assembly despite a petition from the Christian Community for the Bill to be withdrawn.

Parliament also passed a Bill that amends the existing Old Metal Dealers Act (Cap. 91:08), which allows for increased fines and more Government control on the trade; and the Rice Factories (Amendment) Bill, to thwart rice millers from owing rice farmers.

And late last evening, Minister within the Ministry of Education, Dr Desrey Fox, ridiculed the Christian community for the stance it has taken against the Gambling Prevention Bill during a debate on a motion seeking to have the University of Guyana undertake an impact assessment on casino gambling.

During the debate on the motion submitted by Alliance For Change (AFC) Member of Parliament Sheila Holder, Dr Fox questioned the stance taken by the Christian community.

Holder, in December, submitted the motion to Parliament calling for the University of Guyana to undertake a study on the impact casinos will have on the society.

In her motion, she stated that the study should be completed within three months.

But Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee said that there was no need for a study, since casinos will boost tourism, which is a proven revenue earner for a number of countries.

He said that Government was threatened by the stance taken by the Christian community, which he labelled as an “attack against the state.”

Dr Fox stated that the church has been silent on matters where its own members are engaged in money laundering.

They (church leaders) are also silent when the very church has become a major business, where pastors tell their congregation how much money they should give back to the church, she said.

“Is this the same church that is against casino gambling?” Dr Fox questioned.

She added that, over the years, the church took away land under the pretext of land being offered in heaven, and that church leaders were silent during the days of slavery, and even encouraged the practice by sharing Bibles to slaves.

Security around Parliament Buildings was beefed up in an apparent effort to keep protestors at bay.

However, religious activists holding placards gathered on Brickdam and King Street , and at Croal Street and Avenue of the Republic, where the police had erected barricades to prevent approaches to Public Buildings.

Led by several leaders of the Christian community, the protestors shouted slogans and sang religious hymns as Parliamentarians made their way into the proceedings.

Inside a packed National Assembly, and in the presence of a visiting team from the Canadian Parliament, People's National Congress Reform-One Guyana (PNCR-1G) frontbencher Volda Lawrence presented the petition from the Christian community.

The petition was endorsed by Rev Raphael Massiah of the Georgetown Ministers' Fellowship; Rev. Alphonso Porter of the Guyana Council of Churches, and Pastor Lloyd Stewart of the Guyana Evangelical Fellowship.

The church leaders stated that the Gambling Prevention Bill was “disingenuous, opportunistic, and in conflict with the protection of various rights granted to citizens and the Parliament of Guyana in its attempt to institute casino gambling.”

According to the leaders, they have engaged in academic research and verbal polling in their various districts, and sincerely conclude that the majority of Guyanese, if given the opportunity to participate in the political process as the consultation guarantees, would be unalterably opposed to such a move.

The leaders said that the petition was based on the fact that Government's approach, thus far on the issue, has illustrated little regard for the Constitution.

They said that there exists a lot of evidence to show that, with weak law enforcement, judicial, legislative, and social infrastructure, the advent of casino gambling could see Guyana moving from “jurisdiction of concern” in the United States Department's money laundering list, to a “jurisdiction of primary concern.”

The petition further noted that Government cannot, and must not, be held ransom by any stakeholder because it facilitated investors' efforts to benefit from tourism and Cricket World Cup (CWC).

Upping the ante

Following the tabling of the Bill, Rev. Porter told Kaieteur News that the church would not let the issue die in the dust, but would be launching a signature campaign to demonstrate to the Government that the majority of Guyanese are against the introduction of casinos.

He posited that from the tabling of the Bill, it was obvious that Government is intent on disregarding the concerns of the Christian community.

“We will continue to press ahead with our plans to show this Government that this is something that is not for Guyana . The Government appears to be reluctant to want to listen, but we have to let them hear us.”

He added that the church was not against casino gambling from a theological standpoint, but was against it on moral grounds and also based on studies done in other Third World countries.

Porter stated that, in the coming days, Church leaders will revisit their plan and will seek to involve the Muslim and Hindu communities.

Up to press time, the debate on the motion was still ongoing.