Acklins religious community opposes web shops on island

Wed, Dec 11th 2013, 10:59 AM

ACKLINS - Religious and community leaders in Acklins have voiced their displeasure at the emergence of web shops on the island.

Acklins residents attended an emergency meeting at the Community Centre at Spring Point called by the Acklins religious community to discuss issues affecting the community on December 2. Two web shops have been licensed to conduct business in Acklins within a two-month period.

"I have no knowledge of how the web shops obtained their licenses," said Francita Neilly, the island's administrator, at the meeting.

"They didn't get it through my office. I believe the community needs to be informed before web cafe licenses are issued. The ball is in your court..

 You have the power to put a hold on this thing. You community leaders can put a petition together and forward it to the relevant government departments."

The administrator also said there are a small number of police officers and clinics on the island, and if violence were to occur where the web shops are that would cause serious challenges for both law enforcement and medical personnel.

Rufus Forbes, a pastor and president of the Acklins Combined Churches, told the audience they have to be activists for their community.

"We are talking about the future of our children and community. These web shop owners are only concerned about themselves and how much money they can make," he said.

"The fact of the matter is that Acklins is already a poor island and you going to bring gambling up here?

We all know that any place where gambling is, you going to have prostitution and crime and we don't want that on our peaceful island." Julius Chisolm, a local businessman, wants the web shops closed down.

"We are very upset the way these people obtained their business licenses. We in Acklins voted in the referendum against gambling and we expected government to respect our wishes.

They bypassed the administrator and jammed it down our throats and that is wrong .''

The administrator also said that since the web shops opened she has seen a decline in government revenue at the Post Office in regard to money transfers, as many people are now using web shops to transfer funds.

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