by DONNA SEALY

GOVERNMENT SEEMS to have successfully "moved heaven and earth" to have the country ready to host Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 – now just 60 days away.

Prime Minister Owen Arthur said yesterday he was very satisfied with the island's preparations for which he took responsibility since last February.

Speaking to the Press minutes after emerging from a meeting at the Sherbourne Conference Centre which he chaired with Cabinet ministers, heads of Government agencies and departments, as well as the CWC's local organising committee, Arthur said he was "excited" about Barbados' role in the games and noted the country had reached "the point of no return".

He said: "There is no real outstanding issue with anything. There is nothing that I can tell you that this is a crisis that we have here .... Where there are things behind schedule we have plans on how to bring them to schedule."

Among the issues discussed were roads, the work on and around Kensington Oval, health, tourism, and the tourism accommodation programme, international transport, security and sanitation.

The Prime Minister also said there were reports from each ministry, department and agency.

In June last year, while addressing a special meeting of the Inter-Agency Governmental Committee for the hosting of the event, Arthur said everything of "a fundamental nature" relating to CWC had to be completed by the end of this month.

More than once the Prime Minister has rejected criticism and scepticism about the ability of the Caribbean to host the world's third largest sporting event.

Arthur said CWC was "an expression of confidence of who we are and what we can do as a people" and Caribbean governments should pursue the belief that this region should host something as important as a Cricket World Cup and a cricket World Cup final.

It was on February 12, last year, after touring Kensington Oval Arthur said "Barbados will be ready and the Government will move heaven and earth to make sure that Barbados is ready."
* donnasealy@nationnews.com