Last Sunday two letters were published in this newspaper about GuyExpo, one of which was from Dr Joyce Jonas. The issues raised were not new; there are complaints every year from residents in the vicinity of the Sophia site about the noise levels and the other disruptions to their lives during the period when the trade fair is under way. It is true that the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce dispatched letters in advance of the exhibition to the residents of the area explaining arrangements in relation to parking, tickets, litter collection and music, among other things, and that certainly does them credit. However, if, as apparently happened, the authorities find they are unable to adhere to all their undertakings, the letters would serve to irritate rather than soothe.
The primary complaint, as always, concerns noise nuisance. Dr Jonas related how a house in Plum Park was broken into during GuyExpo, and a woman and her daughter were brutally beaten. Their screams were not heard by the neighbours, she said, because of the noise emanating from Sophia. She went on to refer to the case of a dying man in the area, who spent his last hours on this earth having to endure the ear-splitting volume from the sound systems in GuyExpo. And if that were not enough, some of the lyrics of the songs played were vulgar in the extreme.
One sound system alone playing at an unacceptable volume would have been intolerable, but residents said that the situation was worse than this because there was more than one system in operation competing against each other, no doubt to try and have their music heard above the din. If it was unbearable for residents, one cannot imagine what it must have been like for exhibitors inside the site, as well as those patrons who are accustomed to a more rational environment.
The first thing that has to be said about the situation is that the government is clearly at odds with itself. On the one hand we have Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee declaring that he is moving against noise nuisance, and on the other hand we have another section of government actively contributing to the problem. One thing is certain, the policemen at the site made no effort to stop the racket, let alone charge anyone in connection with the breach of the law. How can the authorities justify to the public operating in such blatant disregard of the law? And if they themselves break this particular law, why shouldn’t they break other laws? If a piece of legislation is on the statute books it should be observed, and if it is no longer relevant, then it should be taken off the books. There should be no circumstances where government functionaries operate above the law, because then there is no law at all. After all, if the Ministry of Tourism can cause noise nuisance with impunity, then why can’t the rum shop at the corner? At the very least it makes nonsense of everything that Minister Rohee has been saying, and undermines his credibility. The next time he tells citizens his ministry and the police are taking a problem seriously, everyone will just laugh.
There is also the secondary matter of the vulgarity of some of the music played. What is the government doing at one of its own activities – which officially, at least, is not intended as a jam session – bombarding citizens both inside and outside the site with such unalloyed vulgarity? GuyExpo, apart from its business aspects, is regarded as the kind of exhibition to which one can bring the family. Exactly how the Ministry of Tourism can defend the playing of such sexually explicit and sexist songs with so many children and youngsters around is difficult to fathom. There is also the matter of public health, which has been taken up by the Ministry of Health in more recent times. Music played at the GuyExpo volume quite simply damages hearing. The research is clear and unequivocal, although one must assume that the Minister of Tourism is not aware of it. The point is that the government cannot be seen to be facilitating a recognized health hazard, more particularly when it is known there will be children around.
The problem, as is clear from Dr Jonas’s letter, is that in recent times the Ministry does not seem to be able to make up its mind about what kind of event GuyExpo really is. She describes it as “5% serious business and 95% f
