What is really going on in Guyana?

Oct 21, 2016 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

A building which cost $1.6 billion to build is now going to cost $1.4 billion to repair. The building is a solid concrete structure and people are asking what could be wrong with this building that the cost of the repairs is almost the same as the cost of construction.
The building which is now known as the Arthur Chung Convention Centre is not in a state of disrepair. It has parts which can do with a coat of paint.
It is being used for major events as it is. The government recently used it during the Heads of Government Meeting of the Caribbean Community. If it was good enough for such a gathering, it should be good for a few more years.
If anything, the building needs to be utilized more often. It is not earning its keep by being underutilized. It is therefore strange that the building will now have to be closed down to facilitate repairs.
It is great disservice to the first President of Guyana, Arthur Chung, that the building was fit enough to be named in his honour but now has to be redone at such a prohibitive cost.
What is going to be done to the building? Is the design going to change?
For such a costly venture, it may have been better for a new structure to have been built in another part of the country. Essequibo does not have a comparative structure. Berbice has nothing which can compare to the Convention Centre. None of these two counties has a cultural center. So why instead of spending $1.4 billion on such an elaborate structure which is already is good shape why not invest that money in something that will serve the people of Berbice or Essequibo.
A major reconstruction of this nature would have had to receive the consent of Cabinet. A compelling case would have had to be made? What was the basis of this case? Why did the government approve of it?
It is believed that almost a billion dollars was wasted on Durban Park. What has been erected there is a monstrosity. It looks more like a political investment intended to host the rallies of the APNU+AFC than a new stadium which definitely was not needed in Region Four.
What has been created there is a crusher-run jungle. It is unbefitting of that location that instead of turf, the surface is made of granulated stone. The stands are unsightly and only half covered, which means that half of the persons who go to that location to attend an event are going to be soaked if and when it rains and they are present.
The square within Durban Park is now a military drill square. The military did not need another drill square. They have a lot of space at Camp Ayanganna and at the National Park. Why was it necessary for such massive expenditures to be spent or raised for that location?
Up to now, no one knows who donated what to that place and just how much was the final tap to taxpayers of the overall works. The only tenders that went out took place after the Ministry of Public Infrastructure had to take over the work of finishing and roofing those wooden stands which look today like relics from the past.
Whose idea it was to construct wooden stands? All over the world, those types of structures have become extinct. No one is building those types of stands anymore—except Guyana.
The PPPC had decided that the area would have been a green zone except that they turned into a jungle which harbored snakes, alligators and breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Durban Park is the closest thing Guyana has to the Queen’s Park Savannahs. It should have been converted into a public recreational facility. The extra money spent could have gone to building a similar park in Berbice and Essequibo.

2 thoughts on “What is really going on in Guyana?”

RLSG October 21, 2016 at 8:15 am

Day after day after day the asininity of the APNU+AFC continues to astound me and I am sure many more. They are just wasting the people’s money on foolishness. I suppose with Granger’s military background he cannot help himself.
I am picking on him because he is in the leadership role. The people’s needs such as increase in salaries is taking a backseat to showplaces which provide no value and like the previous administration will become classic white elephants. Where are the visionaries .. apparently there are none. Their priorities are totally misplaced.
carl veecock October 21, 2016 at 10:23 am

That money for sure could be spent on constructing a new prison.

I guess that sight is impaired.