Guyana wants to retain six laws enacted for world cup - Rohee
Stabroek News
April 19, 2007
The government would wish to retain six laws that supplemented the sunset legislation which enabled nine Caribbean countries, including Guyana, to host the Cricket World Cup 2007 tournament.
Speaking with reporters on a number of issues at his Brickdam Office yesterday, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee said the six pieces are the Visiting Forces Act, Security Assistance (Caricom Member States) Act, Status of Visiting Police Officers Act, Visiting Forces Act, Immigration Amendment Act and the Caricom Special Visa Arrangement Act.
He said the retention of the various pieces, which came into being to facilitate logistical arrangements for Guyana's staging of six of the Super Eight matches in the CWC 2007 tournament, would have to be approved by Cabinet before the sun sets on the ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 Act also known as the sunset legislation. The sunset legislation ends on June 30.
It is expected that the proposal to retain the laws would be submitted to Cabinet after the final match in the CWC 2007 tournament is held in Barbados on April 28, so that the laws could be sent back to Parliament for further action to be taken.
Rohee noted that during the debate in parliament on these pieces of legislation, the parliamentary opposition had also supported the suggestion that some aspects of the laws, meant for a short period, particularly as they relate to security, be retained once the CWC 2007 tournament is over.
Meanwhile, Rohee was high in praise for ranks of the Guyana Police Force, particularly those who worked in the immigration and traffic departments, and members of the Guyana Fire Service and Prison Service to ensure a secure environment for the staging of the mega event.
It was only on the eve of the first match to be held in Guyana, Rohee said, that he was presented with the security plan from the Joint Services led by the Guyana Police Force. The Security Review Committee had met on eight occasions to review the security arrangements, which was coordinated by a joint operational centre operating out of Eve Leary on a 24-hour basis from the time the teams arrived in Guyana to the time they left.
He expressed gratitude to the governments of India, Trinidad and Tobago, and the
Caricom Operations Planning and Coordinating Staff (COPACS) for their assistance in providing security teams along with sniffer dogs to deal with bomb detection and bomb disposal.
Though he could not say exactly how many visitors entered the country from February 2 to April 15, he noted that those given special permits and visas were 1,975 and those given Caricom wristbands were 16,975. Only one person was given a one-day pass. (Miranda La Rose)