The Caricom summit opens up a new vista

Jul 02, 2009 Editorial

The Heads of Government of the countries that form the Caribbean Community, the heads of the regional financial institution, the Commonwealth Secretariat and special invitees would assemble in Georgetown for the 30th Caricom summit. This is the third time that Guyana would be hosting the summit since 1987 but this time around, there is adequate accommodation for the visitors and their entourage. Guyana placed itself alongside any country capable of hosting major events when it began preparation to host Cricket World Cup in 2007.

The opening ceremony is billed for the National Cultural Centre, the venue that hosted every summit held here. The summit then move to the International Convention Centre that did not exist the last time this country hosted the summit.
What have been most impressive have been the efforts to make the city and its environs presentable. Money was spent to remove the garbage that uncaring people deposited all over the countryside. Tons of garbage littered the roadways and every conceivable site that offered open spaces. For some time now the city council has been threatening to penalize anyone found littering and indeed a few have been placed before the courts. However, these have been the people who happened to discard a cigarette butt, or a Styrofoam carton that once served as a food container. The major polluters, however, always seemed to escape prosecution.

We are of the view that as is the case in so many areas of law enforcement; the so-called big ones always live to litter another day. It is as though the authorities turn a blind eye to the littering.
Not so long ago a poultry rearer discarded hundreds of baby chicks at the entrance to the Mandela Avenue dumpsite because they were not injected and he could not afford to keep them in stock. City Hall and the other law enforcers conducted an investigation and identified the agency that was responsible for the dumping. To this day there has been nothing on the outcome. We are certain that there will be another episode of this nature in the future.

Surprisingly, the government was a bit thin-skinned when this newspaper contended that the government was on a clean up campaign ahead of the summit. President Bharrat Jagdeo, who will assume the chairmanship of Caricom at this summit, actually said that the clean up was part of an ongoing programme. And this may be so, but there is nothing wrong in making the city presentable for visitors.
When Trinidad and Tobago hosted the Summit of the Americas in April, millions of dollars was spent beautifying Port of Spain and the people of Trinidad actually said that they would appreciate it if the country were to host a summit every month.
Guyana is no different and the decent citizens are heartened at the new appearance of the city. The issue, now, is for this appearance to be maintained.
But more than the sprucing up is the ability of the country to host major events. The hotels are so different from what was there in the past. There are also the tourist resorts that Guyana is seeking to showcase to the rest of the world.

For years the national leaders have been trying to showcase the natural beauty of the country. Kaieteur Falls, one of the wonders of nature has been a calling card but for some reason, Guyana never promoted this wonder, as it should. This has changed. So too are the efforts to promote the tourist destinations which for good reason, are in the hinterland which is now the source of Guyana’s carbon credit pursuit. Guyana’s Iwokrama project is about forest preservation; the visitors, many of whom saw no waterway larger than a small canal would see large rivers. They are going to be dumbstruck.
But there is one thing that has impressed every visitor –Guyana’s hospitality. We are a hospitable people; very friendly and above all, we love visitors. That is why there is this brouhaha over the treatment of Guyanese in Barbados. Such treatment is foreign to this country.

When this is all over and the visitors would have left the country would have been basking in the kudos from hosting a successful summit. We have not mentioned the fresh foods that would be there for all to access, something that is foreign to the very countries that are a part of the regional integration movement.
Guyana holds lead responsibility for agriculture. Perhaps the offer of arable land to the visitors would be seen for what it is, a salvation to the region’s food woes.

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The Caricom summit opens up a new vista

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