The Independence Day parade will begin at 8 a.m. this coming Friday.
Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves made the announcement Sunday on radio saying that while the case made for the parade to be pushed back was a plausible one, it was too late to do so.
Gonsalves had earlier announced that he had received a request from Superintendent Benzil Samuel for a change in the start of the parade from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. citing the excessive heat as the reason.
But according to Gonsalves, it was just too late to make such a change at this point.
He said that some programs had already been planned, for example the Madungo festival, and that others had activities which they had already arranged.
Gonsalves made the case that foreign diplomats arriving on the evening of the 26th, may have already booked to depart on the evening of the 27th.
“There are too many things for it to be done in this hurried way,” the prime minister said.
The police will have to be cognizant of the fact that heat is a factor for a shorter parade, and he said that he would have to make his speech as concise as possible.
Consideration may be given for a change in the time for the future, he said.
“We will have to give consideration for persons to discuss it a little more fully,” said Gonsalves.
The decision may be made not to change the time at all, Gonsalves noted, but he will have to give some time for a fuller discussion on the matter.