JAMAICA LABOUR Party (JLP) supporters had to wait for up to 30 minutes to enter the National Arena on Sunday as new security measures were put in place for the 66th annual conference.

While the majority of Labourites seemed unfazed by the measures, which included body searches for everyone entering the arena, some senior members were not amused.

Among them were new Deputy Leader Desmond McKenzie, Councillor Rosalie Hamilton and parliamentary secretary in the health ministry, Aundre Franklyn, who expressed concern about the time it was taking persons to enter the Arena.

"This really nuh necessary," Hamilton declared loudly after an obviously upset McKenzie chided the police personnel for the pace of their operation.

Resigned to being searched

But inside the arena, most supporters seemed resigned to the idea of the searches.

"This is necessary because we don't want a repeat of last year," one man said.

"It tek me half-hour to come in but it all right, because the security is good," another added.

"The security a good thing but it rough and it hard to come in. A long time me no get search by the police," added his colleague.

"This should happen at all events because it makes people feel safer."

Russell Hadeed, head of the conference committee, was also pleased.

"It has been good. The delays were sporadic and occurred when a number of buses came at the same time," Hadeed said.

Ganja concerns

He was supported by Deputy Treasurer Daryl Vaz, who led the party's efforts to raise approximately $20 million to stage the conference.

"The truth is that we had sensitised our people and asked them to be patient because the security was crucial and, as you can see, even the scent of ganja is missing from this year's conference and it is as a result of the security measures," Vaz said.

While ganja sellers were seen outside the arena, persons entering the facility had their lighters and ganja seized by the police but it appeared no one was arrested.

The body searches resulted in an almost two-hour delay in the start of the conference as the thousands of Labourites slowly made their way into the venue.

The JLP implemented new security arrangements following a shooting incident at last year's annual conference.

On that occasion, one man was fatally shot and two others injured during an altercation.