April 18, 2022
– Engineer Charles Sohan insists economy, air traffic cannot justify such projects
Kaieteur News – Prominent Engineer Charles Sohan has flayed government’s promises to build an airport at Rose Hall, and a stadium and hotel at Palmyra saying that the economy and the anticipated air traffic in the Region cannot justify such these projects.
“The people in this region are struggling to find jobs as well as putting food on their tables for their families particularly so since the closing of the sugar estates- where would these Guyanese find the resources and time to attend functions at a sports stadium and pay for lodging in an expensive hotel when their priorities have to be directed elsewhere?’ Sohan asked in a letter to this newspaper. During a Cabinet outreach last week, both President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo made the announcement of the mega projects- aimed at appeasing its base that is still reeling from the government’s failure to reopen the closed sugar estates promised during the elections campaign in 2022.
While addressing members of the Region Six business community at the Classic International Hotel and Resort in Skeldon last week Sunday, Jagdeo said that the government has taken all the lands from GuySuCo around the village of Palmyra, behind the Indian Arrival Monument for the stadium. Construction works are expected to commence before year end. “We believe that just like how that stadium serves Regions Three and Four across the bridge, so too this stadium can serve Regions Six and Five and can become a growth pole,” he said. He also noted that the government has received several proposals for hotel development in Region Six and pointed out that these investments will support the government’s efforts to drive growth and generate jobs in Region Six.
Only last week Economist, Ramon Gaskin told the Kaieteur News that there are several areas, some dealing with life and death situations that the government should address before spending on major investments that do not directly and immediately improve the quality of citizens’ lives. Gaskin expressed concern that Guyanese are still burdened by the meagre $44,200 minimum wage which the government has not yet approved despite the awful effects felt by the globally influenced high cost of living. Gaskin pointed to the lack of attention being paid to free education at the University of Guyana despite this requirement being in the Constitution. He highlighted the need for subsidizing basic food items and even the need for price control on those primary items that have seen huge price increases due to external influences.
Gaskin was especially concerned about what he noticed was an increase in the establishment of private health institutions to which he said government was delegating services instead of itself investing the funds to reduce cost paid by citizens.
Gaskin said it is appalling that all these multi-million and multi-billion dollar infrastructural projects are coming on stream, while the government has failed to improve the minimum wage, which its labour ministry and workers’ unions had agreed to during tripartite discussions in 2019. He opined that the government has instead embarked on projects that will benefit a small few. For example, in Berbice where the President recently announced a number of projects, these he said will not ease the pressures of the region, which was impacted severely by the reduction of the sugar industry.
As it relates to health, Gaskin said that instead of expanding its services, the government seems to be delegating its responsibility to private institutions.
Attorney-at-Law and chartered accountant Christopher Ram also believes that the government should be doing more to benefit citizens immediately and directly. He told Kaieteur News in an invited comment that despite the physical infrastructure, they should at least deal with the important social infrastructure. To be fair, Ram posited, the government has embarked on some socially related developments, but these are not being developed at the same rate as infrastructural development. Ram insisted that, “people have a right to a living wage and that is non-negotiable.” He said however, this right begins with the government making it clear to the private sector that the current minimum wage is unacceptable. He said, “It is unacceptable that in this day and age, with the fastest growing economy that we are well below the minimum wage of less performing countries in the world.” Ram said he is also unwilling to accept any talk that increasing workers’ pay will increase inflation since there is no evidence to prove this.
