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Does the AFC oppose the expansion of CJIA?

Mar 01, 2015 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

A resounding NO! The AFC would not oppose any programme or project that will enhance the socio-economic development of Guyana and Guyanese.
In the case of the CJIA, we believe that the time for a full-scale expansion of the airport itself is not now.
Millions of dollars were spent around 2006 to rehabilitate the airport’s main building, the Air Traffic Control centre and peripheral facilities at Timehri. The G$700 Million Doppler Radar weather system was also installed at that time.
The PPP/C originally went to Parliament with a proposal to expand the runway at a considerable cost and it was APPROVED.
The extended runway was going to be the beginning of a phased programme to further modernize the airport which would give a boost to Tourism.
Our contention is that right now, the billions of dollars that the Government is paying ostensibly to rehabilitate the airport’s buildings, and in the foreseeable future the billions of taxpayer dollars that will have to be repaid to the Chinese Bank on the loan for this project, would be better utilized to improve the lives of ordinary people.
Right now, funding should be made available to increase Old Age Pensions; upgrade the facilities and salaries across the board at the University of Guyana; towards public servants’ wages especially for nurses, policemen, soldiers and teachers; construction, repair and maintenance of minor bridges and roads, access roads, community centres and other infrastructure in the hundreds of communities in Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo and in the hinterland regions.
Those funds should go towards returning Georgetown, the Garden City that we used to be so proud of, to a state of health and cleanliness AND KEEPING IT THAT WAY!
It is impossible for any rational politician (or technocrat) to conceive of promoting Guyana as a viable destination for tourists from developed metropolitan countries, even the developed Caribbean and South American nations, when the city which boasts quite a few notable landmarks – the St. George’s Cathedral, the City Hall, Stabroek Market, and Parliament Buildings – remains in such a deplorably decrepit state. The areas just outside of Georgetown on the East and West Bank and the East and West Coast of Demerara fare no better.
The sorely visible piles of garbage are now a source of vexatious contention that is raised repeatedly by citizens, NGOs and business owners.
Much as the incumbent government tries to avoid passing tourists through these eye-sores during their feeble attempts at promoting eco-tourism in the hinterland regions, visitors arriving at Timehri must travel along the East Bank corridor where the filthy odours emanating from heavily silted canals and muddy swamps must besiege their senses.
If they disembark at the Ogle aerodrome their experiences would be no different. The East Coast corridor displays too much squalor and evidence of citizens living in abject poverty.
So we ask, which is more important, spending our own or borrowed money on structures that visitors spend sometimes one hour in, or upgrading physical infrastructure which citizens would derive immense benefit from for years?
Do we need a more modern airport? Yes we do, but there are more pressing priorities!

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