Kaieteur News caught lying once again

JUST when I thought the Kaieteur News could possibly stoop no lower in its attacks upon the PPP/C government, that newspaper has gone and proven me wrong.

Old Kai was not amused at what amounts to blatant lies now being nonchalantly peddled by the newspaper as legitimate media reports.

One could understand the people behind the newspaper pushing an opposition line, but it is unforgivable that they would use, as collateral damage in their quest, national projects intended to lay the foundation for a new era in our development.

This is evident in their latest attack on the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, contained in the newspaper’s Sunday edition. The article notes that “Under the expansion project, the main runway at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) is to be extended by another 3,500 feet, or 1,066 metres. But the reasons given for the runway extension, which will cost Guyana in excess of US$58M for the runway and taxiway expansion, may have not been so solid after all.”

They then contrast this bit of information with the Princess Juliana International Airport on the island of St. Maarten.
“…(PJIA) in St. Maarten, a Dutch island in the Eastern Caribbean area, has its current main runway at 7,546 feet. CJIA’s runway is 7,447, or about 99 feet shorter than that of (the runway in) St. Maarten. The problem with the justification used by Government of Guyana is that the larger, wide-body 747-400 planes that have been landing comfortably in St. Maarten at that airport with no major incidents reported for decades, cannot land easily at CJIA.”

The ignorance displayed in this article, either deliberate or otherwise, is astonishing; as the first issue which comes to light is that, not so long ago, Guyana experienced its worst international flight disaster, which would have been averted had a longer runway been in place. This involved a much smaller aircraft.
The accident occurred in June 2011, when a Caribbean Airlines flight overshot the runway, crashed and broke into two just ahead of a ravine a short distance from the end of the runway. No one died, but several were injured. It does not take a genius to figure out that this incident would not have occurred if the extension of 3,500 feet had been in place.

But it appears that the Kaieteur News and its handlers would prefer that the Guyana Government does nothing, and wait for another incident to occur so they could, in turn, attack the administration for not extending the runaway.

Old Kai is now worried that such reports by the Kaieteur News, just like the PNC/R=APNU and the AFC who have cut funding for the project in the national budget, may be seen as designed to compromise the safety and security of travellers using the airport; and also to inconvenience them as much as possible, as they are opposing efforts to construct docking/terminal stations, so our travellers, especially the young and aged, will no longer have to walk up or down those steep steps, and be exposed to the sun or rain while using the tarmac to get to the main building.

These are the people who cry about the lack of infrastructure development and modernization on one side of their mouths, and then oppose it on the other.

This revelation now gives further credence to the growing concern that the main agenda of the Kaieteur News is one of anti-development simply for selfish political purposes.

That apart, what they have failed to point out about the St. Maarten international airport in their analogy is that it is listed as one of the world’s most dangerous. Therefore, it is easy to surmise that the Kaieteur News apparently wants the CJIA to fit into this category.

But it does not end there, as apart from the fact that the contractor for the project is a Chinese firm, the newspaper launches what could be considered an openly racist attack on the Chinese community at the conclusion of the article, as it notes: “With its location at the northern tip of South American, Government said it is banking on increased travel from Africa and Asia. There has indeed been an increase in the number of Chinese landing in Guyana, though not for tourism purposes.”

This is where Kaieteur News is caught lying, as, in its first sentence, there is no mention that the anticipated increased travel from Africa and Asia would be for, or solely for, tourism-related purposes. Rather, the expansion is geared towards creating a transportation hub, bridging North America, the Caribbean, South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and as result Europe. Already this is materializing, with flights now being offered to several South American nations from the CJIA.

This will, no doubt, have a tourism-related spinoff, but it is also geared at opening up Guyana more as a business hub, bearing in mind the ongoing exploration for oil; the construction of a deep water harbor, making Guyana a major trans-shipment port, among other investments in both traditional and non-traditional sectors.

It can only be possible if we have the necessary infrastructure in place, such as the CJIA expansion project, the Marriott Hotel, the Specialty Hospital, the ongoing road expansion and rehabilitation projects, the hydro project to provide cheaper electricity, and a new Demerara Harbour Bridge to go with initiatives already realized; such as the Berbice river bridge.

Should this be realized, it will undoubtedly move Guyana and its people from being one of the poorest in this part of the world to being one of the richest.
But this is apparently what the PNC/R=APNU and the AFC are afraid of; thus their pit-bull, the Kaieteur News, will continue barking away as we move closer to possible elections.

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