THE NEW CAPITAL OF GUYANA

Jan 22, 2010 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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The PNCR and the AFC must now reassess their doubts about the effectiveness of parliament and the possibilities of change emanating from that assembly.
While both parties may be skeptical about the seriousness with which they are taken within parliament, recent events have proved that there is still a role for forceful representation with that House.
The government recently applied for a four billion dollar supplementary approval for the housing sector. The PNCR, through its member Mr. Winston Murray questioned the purposes of this allocation.
Specific questions were asked of the subject minister about the purposes of the allocation and the time frame in which it was going to be used. Each time, the opposition got the same answer. The monies it was said was to provide 17,000 house lots.
The member from the opposition then queried the absence of a project document detailing how the money was going to be spent. Again the same answer, the money was for house lots. No explanation was given as to where these house lots were going to be.
The opposition member in frustration then asked whether at a later date, a project profile for the four billion dollars was going to be submitted. Again, there was no direct answer.
We now know why. The Minister of Agriculture has been reported in the media as indicating that the government was going to pay the Guyana Sugar Corporation four billion dollars for land to develop 17,000 house lots. This explains everything, including why the opposition’s specific questions in the House invited the answers received.
The opposition must now feel vindicated that it has forced the government to admit that in effect the four billion dollars is a bailout plan for the sugar corporation.
The four billion dollars is going to be paid to the corporation for land, thereby helping the corporation out of its financial problems.
This shows that for all the talk about a turnaround plan, the sugar corporation is in deep crisis and the government has had to intervene to rescue the corporation, which we are told is too big to fail. But at what price is GuySuCo being bailed out?
The lands that are to be sold for the four billion dollars will most likely be in the Diamond area and already there are signals that the sugar lands in Diamond are going to be phased out.
There is talk that it is much too far to transport the cane from Diamond to Enmore for grinding. Well, it is surprising that this was not known when the Diamond factory was closed many years ago.
The possible implication of this land sale, and the hinting that Diamond is too far from a factory, is the gradual phasing out of all the estates in Demerara.
The same logic of distance can be applied to other estates in Demerara. Whatever the situation, the land sale at Diamond will seriously reduce the cultivation area and means that jobs are being traded for house lots.
The sugar union, GAWU, has already raised objections to this possibility, indicating that it is opposed to the sale of further sugar lands on the East Bank for housing development.
And given the premium price that the government is paying for these sugar lands, it is not likely that the house lots will end up in the hands of the lower class because the government will have to resell these lands and will most likely favour middle income earners in this sale. This sale is therefore likely to see a huge confrontation between the government and the sugar union which is likely to demand that the corporation not sell these lands, since it will result in a loss of employment for sugar workers at Diamond.
The final implication for this sale of land is that if, as suspected, the lands to be sold are at Diamond, then we can for all intents and purposes say goodbye to Georgetown as the capital of Guyana. The establishment of an additional housing scheme in Diamond will cause a significant demographic shift and all the consequences that go with this development.
Already the Diamond area is a bustling suburb with thousands of homeowners residing in the area.
It has a Diagnostic Centre in the area; the main commercial banks have read the signals and are establishing branches in the area; there are factories in the area; the four-lane highway is being expanded to that area; traffic lights are already installed, a petrol station is being established; and now with seventeen thousand additional house lots likely to be located in the near environs, we can safely kiss goodbye to Georgetown as the centre of commerce and business activity.
As the publisher of this newspaper predicted years ago, Diamond will become the new capital of Guyana. Glenn Lall was right all along!

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