CHAIRMAN of G2K, the Jamaica Labour Party’s professional arm, Dr Christopher Tufton, has warned that the government could end up with “egg on its face” for failing to involve important stakeholders in discussions leading up to Jamaica’s hosting of Cricket World Cup(CWC) 2007 next March.

“I want to issue a warning to this government that it has to be careful…The world cup don’t start it, it is only the legislation that is being done, and if it is their intent to leave the critical stakeholders out of the discussions and the planning, they will end up with an event that leaves egg over their faces and destroys or damages the reputation of Jamaica and the Caribbean,” Tufton said.

He was speaking at yesterday’s monthly meeting of the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Area Council One(Kingston and St Andrew) at the Duhaney Park Primary School in the West St Andrew contituency.

Tufton said that not only was the government aware of Jamaica’s co-hosting of CWC 2007 from at least 2003, but that the Attorneys General of Caricom had signed off on the draft sunset legislation from April this year.

He said that despite this, the legislation did not reach the floor of the Senate until four days before the November first deadline for its passage. He explained that the bill was 40 pages long, with 60 clauses, and said that if the Opposition had offered amendments, it would have delayed the passage of the bill, as it would have had to be referred back to the House of Represnetatives this week, and jeopardised the country’s participation.

By doing this, the government had usurped the Senate’s position as the chamber of review, and straightjacketed the Opposition, who did not wish to jeopardise Jamaica’s participation as a host of the event, he added.

He described the government’s handling of the bill as “unacceptable, offensive and showing scant regard for the people of Jamaica”.

He noted that the legislaton would not only affect businesses and schools in the designated area, but would also restrict the movement of the public within that area.

“It allows the Commissioner of Police to arrest persons who breach the rules that are outlined in the legislation, to put them before the court where they can be charged up to one million dollars. It is immoral, it is insensitive, it is a disregard for the people and it is a demontration of a government that is inefficient and incompetent,” Senator Tufton said.

The sunset legislation has provisions for Jamaica, as one of nine Caricom countries participating in hosting next year’s Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007, to facilitate the hosting of the event by providing for the fulfilment of Jamaica’s obligations under the agreement.

henryb@jamaicaobserver.com