Prefabricated development

Apr 27, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – Guyanese were led to believe that the country’s hosting of the ICC Cricket would jump-start sustained economic development. Citizens were sold the idea that the hosting of the Super 8 segment of the 2007 tournament would bring so much international exposure that tourism was going to take off.

Even the Chief Executive Officer of Cricket World Cup 2007, Chris Dehring got into the act. He said that, “Events of this type generate tremendous activity in the economies of the hosting nations.”

He pointed to the focus on improving the country’s infrastructure such as road building, the upgrading of hospitals, airports, and general levels of service, which he said all help to facilitate tourism growth as well.

The then Minister of Sport, speaking in the National Assembly, highlighted what he saw as the direct and indirect benefits of hosting the tournament. The direct impact, he said was the increased spending in the economy from the hosting of the tournament. The indirect impact is the spending on infrastructure as well as the investment subsequent to the event.

The Jagdeo government was so optimistic about the benefits of hosting the World Cup that it encouraged investments in hotels and accommodation. There was the fear, however, that even with the investments in the construction of hotels there would be a shortfall in rooms. As such, the Local Organising Committee, which received a whopping $650M from NICIL, launched a ‘bed and breakfast’ initiative. Persons were encouraged to upgrade their homes so as to accommodate the influx of tourists.

A great many homeowners fell for this hook, line and sinker. They invested huge sums –flats to make them suitable to the standards which were expected of ‘bread and breakfast’ facilities for the tournament. Many of them borrowed from the commercial banks to do this.

After the tournament, they were left with debt on their hands. The massive influx of tourists did not materialise. The majority of persons who came stayed at friends and relatives.

Cricket World Cup 2007 conjured up a pipe dream of economic take-off. The jump start and the leap forward never happened. In fact between 2007 and 2014, economic growth slowed considerably. In 2008, 2009 and 2010, real GDP growth was half of what it was in 2007. The dream of economic take-off had turned into a fantasy.

Cricket is now in the air once again. Guyana has managed to secure hosting the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) finals for the next three years. The people of Guyana has not been told what commitments – financial and otherwise – the government made in order to secure the rights to host the finals for the next three years. But it must have been quite a hefty package of subsidies and sponsorship.

And, as with Cricket World Cup 2007, the Guyanese people are being sold the idea that the hosting of the CPL will do wonders for the economy. In fact, there is once again talk about bread and breakfast facilities for the thousands who will be coming to Guyana for the tournament.

Just over a week ago, the Ministry of Tourism was requesting expressions of interest for home-stay packages. Well, once bitten, twice shy. Guyanese are not going to make the same mistake as was made in 2007.

And so the government is now announcing that it will buy 300 prefabricated homes to accommodate tourists for the tournament. And when the tournament ends, the houses will be sold to poor persons. According to the President, the prefabricated homes will be used during cricket to house people and the revenue from that rental will go as down-payments for poor purchasers.

The prime beneficiary of the acquisition of these homes will be the firm or firms building them. The firm or firms will secure a sale of 300 prefabricated buildings. This is likely to cost about two billion dollars. The winners of those contracts will be smiling all the way to the bank, unlike those who invested in bread and breakfast facilities for Cricket World Cup 2007.

But like CWC 2007, the homes will not be fully utilised during the two weeks that the tournament will be held in Guyana. The anticipated influx of tourists will not materialise and those that come will either stay at hotels or at friends and families.

But do not tell that to President Irfaan Ali. He is bent on buying these 300 prefabricated homes to house cricket fans and to sell them afterwards to poor people.

It makes you want to laugh. The cricket has become another excuse for misplaced priorities and another spending spree.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)