“Voices of its Principles”
AFC Column
By AFC Vice-Chair Sheila Holder, MP
Kaieteur News
January 14, 2007
There is reason to believe that the intention to introduce casino gambling is likely to mark the future relationship between the Guyana government and the religious community in ways that will not be immediately evident. For a country tired of political contention the issue of casino gambling has become very contentious for a number of reasons.
The fact that government has published Bill No. 30 of 2006 seeking to amend the Gambling Prevention Act (Cap. 9:02) to allow for the licensing of Casinos, appear designed to favour Buddy's hotel that has already earned a substantial loan from the Treasury, to operate a casino in time for Cricket World Cup.
This has clearly troubled many sections of the religious community that either claimed not to have been consulted or consider the consultation to have been cursory and of no importance in spite of their voiced objections.
According to the 2002 census, the Christian, Hindu and Muslim communities in Guyana combined command a membership of over 90% of the population. Yet from all intent and purposes the comments made by Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee and Dr. Desrey Fox, Minister in the Ministry of Education, on Thursday night, in the National Assembly during the debate on the Casino Gambling Motion, were shockingly contemptuous and intended to ridicule sections of the religious community.
These comments being made as they were, in the presence of religious leaders like Bishop Allen, Al-Hajj Fazeel Ferouz and Reverend Porter, President of the Guyana Council of Churches, and others.
It would appear that the government Ministers have concluded that the Guyanese religious communities have no teeth so they are unable to command greater respect from the government. This does not augur well for a favourable government response to the Petition signed by three Christian leaders, Rev Raphael Massiah, Rev Alphonso Porter and Pastor Lloyd Stewart, which was presented to the National Assembly last Thursday opposing the reading, consideration and passage of the Gambling Prevention (Amendment) Bill.
The Guyana Constitution accorded the Guyanese people rights which are proclaimed in article 13 and also in the preamble to ‘forge a system of governance that promotes concerted effort and broad-based participation in National decision-making in order to develop a viable economy and a harmonious community'. The petition is the first to signal the determination of the Christian leadership to voice concerns about casino gambling on behalf of their flock.
It is generally accepted that since government gained a majority in the recent national elections, it is entitled to devise its legislative agenda; however, when that right clashes with those accorded the people by the Constitution, government has a duty to heed the warnings of the people and their religious leaders on matters that will affect their lives in predictable ways. Contrary to the views expressed here, it is the opinion of Minister Rohee that religions, which base their doctrine on certain principles, have no place in the business of government.
The President's new cabinet appointments were perceived by most as a breath of fresh air; but his apparent unwillingness to heed the unease with which the society has greeted his announcement to introduce licensed gambling, threatens the cordial relations between his government and the religious community.
To introduce Casino gambling in a society already teetering on the brink of unencumbered money laundering in a framework of inadequate regulations and policing resources, leaves one in no doubt about the lack of the government's political resolve to tackle money laundering as a serious crime.
We see government proceeding to carry this nation down a road which requires, for the avoidance of significant social problems, that which is missing in Guyana; a well equipped and trained police force to contain gun related crimes, a well paid and motivated public service to withstand corruption in regulating casinos, and a well established social infrastructure to manage the inevitable fallout that is bound to accompany the gaming industry.
This being done at a time when Guyana has been described by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law enforcement Affairs as having ‘the scale of money laundering thought to be large relative to the size of the economy, with some experts estimating that the informal economy is forty to sixty percent of the size of the formal sector. Money laundering has been linked to trafficking in drugs, firearms and persons, as well as corruption and fraud. Drug trafficking and money laundering appear to be propping up the Guyanese economy”.
The argument has been advanced in some quarters that Guyana benefits from money laundering in such areas as currency stability, justifying turning an official blind eye to it.
In a worldwide World Bank governance and anti-corruption indicator measuring six components of good governance, Guyana compared to other sister CARICOM countries - measured way below the regional average in all areas, namely Political stability/non violence, Government effectiveness, Regulatory quality, Rule of law and Control of corruption.
So what is the Guyana government thinking about when it proceeds steadfastly down the road towards introducing casino gambling without the benefit of an informed impact study as proposed in my motion that the University of Guyana be asked to conduct?
We have the eagerly awaited Cricket World Cup (CWC) scheduled for March and April 2007 that is expected to do that which President Jagdeo claims casino gambling will do for the economy, so what's the reason for the rush? Representatives of the government have said that gambling is not a factor for consideration during CWC.
Clearly then the Guyanese public is entitled to its government acting in a more responsible manner and, I dare say with greater respect for the views of the people whom they have sworn to serve faithfully as they uphold and preserve the Constitution of Guyana, rather than rushing to satisfy some alien agenda that ignores such a significant constituency as the collective views of the major religions in the country.