Is 'foreign is better' this government's mantra?

THE EDITOR: Forget the hype, look at the details.

The government has debated and passed the ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup 2024 Bill.

This bill has 48 clauses which essentially surrender a substantial amount of our sovereignty to a foreign body – the International Cricket Council (ICC) – for a period that expires on June 30.

Section 9(1) exempts from all duties and taxes, among other things, any of the following imported for the Cricket World Cup (CWC): food, food supplements and beverages.

If I or anyone else import a food supplement, I/we will get taxed to the max!

Other exemptions are uniforms, costumes and other clothing (all of which I get taxed to the max); products that the licensee intends to distribute as promotional items (but if a company sends me a free item, it is taxed to the max).

Section 10 states that no income taxes whatsoever will be paid by a non-resident on any monies earned in TT, via CWC.

Section 10 (3) – No taxes whatsoever shall be paid by CWC, Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the International Cricket Council's Business Corporation (IBZ), their subsidiaries and associates.

Section 11 sets a $30,000 fine if you enter or exit a venue through a route not approved by CWI.

A significant part of the bill gives substantial protection to the intellectual property rights of the ICC.

The Second Schedule, Part 2, Section 16(2b) Restricted Items (page 39) is a direct blow to our culture. It states that items restricted at all CWC venues include "musical instruments that cannot fit under the venue's seat or on a person's lap or is louder than 70 decibels."

Has the government surrendered showcasing our steelpan or tassa in order to placate the ICC colonialists?

Meanwhile, CNN recently broadcast, on its Inside Africa programme, the International Marimba and Steelpan Music Festival that is held in South Africa. The participants were all young children and young adults from primary and secondary schools. It is normally held every year.

The tag line is that "South Africa Hosts the World's largest Marimba and Steelpan festival." The Ministry of Caricom and Foreign Affairs, via its High Commission in Praetoria, South Africa, was a sponsor of this event.

Back in TT, we are still waiting for Pan Trinbago and the government to get together to pass legislation to make the steelpan our national instrument.

The irony is that the Government could quickly pass a law to protect the intellectual property of a foreign body, but cannot pass a law to protect the intellectual property of an indigenous Trinidad and Tobago product. It seems to me that yes, foreign is always better, and this is the Government's mantra.

LINUS F DIDIER

Mt Hope