By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Christian Council will continue opposing attempts to legalise gambling in the Bahamas, an influential leader declared yesterday.

The comments of Lyall Bethel, Pastor of Grace Community Church, came after Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe said he is ready to move toward legalizing gambling and to allow the Christian Council to react to the decision afterward.

The Tourism Minister said: “I think that’s the way you must. The Christian Council has made its position known. We respect the church.

“Unfortunately, when you take positions of governance, you have to make decisions you’re not always going to be loved for but you’ll be respected for your decisions given the circumstances.

“The church knows that we hold it dearly and that we respect it. It knows that we understand the growth of our country, the development of our country, and that’s why the job that they do must always ensure that people must move away from gaming, but we must understand the circumstances we’re in and if we don’t deal with the circumstances how much more they will hurt all of us. So how can we make the situation good? The best way is to regulate it.”

Reacting to the Minister’s comments, Mr Bethel reiterated his view that going against the “expressed opinion of the Bahamian people as expressed in last year’s referendum” would be political suicide for the government.

He said it would be an “insult to democracy”.

“Bahamians left their home to express their overwhelming opinion that they do not want gambling legalised in this country. I’m always amazed when the persons from the government appear to act like they don’t have any choice but to regulate the industry when they do have a choice. They could shut down the numbers houses. They could confiscate the profits,” he said.

And as for fears that the Bahamas could become blacklisted if gambling is not regulated, Mr Bethel proposed that instead of regulating gambling, the government could give “numbers house bosses” a chance to clean up their image.

He said: “If the number boys want to clean up their images and be seen as good corporate citizens, then they need to renounce the crime they are committing. And after they’ve renounced their crime, the government could initiate an amnesty period so they could repent. The government cannot be seen to give credibility to number house bosses who have been breaking the law all these years. It cannot make persons who have been involved in a criminal enterprise all these years non-criminals with a stroke of a pen.”

Mr Bethel said he prays Minister Wilchcombe’s comments were just his “off the cuff comments” which do not reflect the stance of the government.

He also criticised the expressed notion that the government does not legalise morality. “Governments legalise morality all the time,” he said, adding: “We must pay our bills on time; we can only marry one person. This tired old argument gets dusted off and brought whenever it’s convenient.

“If we were to have dignity in the eyes of the world as the Minister of Tourism is talking about, let the world see we are serious about stopping crime.”

He added: “If they taxed the number houses, the money would not anywhere near approach what a country needs in terms of decreasing the national debt.”

As for why the government has not moved to legalise gambling, Mr Wilchcombe said: “We had a referendum and the referendum has to be respected and you have to allow time to pass and you have to allow debate to be reopened. We’ve had the debate. We’ve been talking to the church, talking got the web shop owners.

“In fact, my ministry has some systems in place in the event so the only thing that’s stopping us right now is ensuring that we’ve talked to all side, knowing full well the importance of communication.

“I’m the Minister responsible. I have the responsibility to go to Cabinet and asking the Prime Minister and colleagues to give consideration of the subject being placed on the agenda and I will speak with him ahead of trying to get the subject on the agenda for the cabinet and once it gets on the agenda I will seek to get my colleagues support.”