World Cup killjoys?

Front page news: World Cup worries dominate the headlines © The Nation

Controversial draft legislation for the World Cup (CWC) is a "far cry" from what promoters originally proposed. Even the giving away of tickets to the games was frowned on by CWC, deputy prime minister Mia Mottley told the House of Assembly yesterday.

"And I know because I was involved in chairing sessions in Georgetown, Guyana, all day and here in Barbados, to be able to bring some level of better balance to what was being asked of us," Mottley said. "There were things, for example, that would have sought to prohibit the giving away of tickets as gifts, and we fought hard, as attorneys-general of the region and said that is not on and that we do not believe that you can so fetter the rights of people to prohibit them wanting to give away tickets as gifts to their friends."

Mottley said the attorneys-general also felt strongly "that things like the carrying of musical instruments, bugles, horns, whatever, (had) been an integral part of the expression of cricket in the Caribbean".

Therefore, what the bill sought to do was not to prohibit the use or carriage of those pieces of equipment, but to ensure that people carrying them had the relevant permission, Mottley explained. "So we're not trying to kill off the culture, but we recognise that while we host this global event, we may have to better regulate the utilisation of things that may have been common to us as part of our expression of support in the attendance of the games," she added.

The ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 Bill, 2006 contains several restrictive provisions, blanket tax waivers, sweeping temporary powers and heavy fines of up to $75,000 for offences. Press reports just over a week ago that Government was going to parliament seeking approval for laws which some cricket fans saw as clashing with the Bajan culture, created a stir. Fans who were used to arriving at Kensington Oval with big baskets of food, large radios, musical instruments, big flags and bottles of alcoholic beverages, could be fined up to $40,000 if parliament approved the drafted laws, the report warned.

Items on the Kensington Oval's prohibited list were said to include cans or tins, glass bottles, megaphones, air or gas-operated horns and gas cylinders (including portable barbecue equipment).

Mottley said there could be some softening of the regulations with regard to cricket fans carrying musical instruments

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