WHILE being told that government is putting policy in place for proper management and maintenance of aerodromes in Guyana’s hinterland, residents of Surama were charged by Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Sydney Allicock to be more aggressive in pushing for tourism development in the Region 9 community.Minister Allicock was speaking at the recommissioning ceremony of the Surama Airstrip on the 84th birth anniversary of the community’s founder Robert Fredericks Allicock, who is also the father of the minister.
The airstrip was reconstructed on a budget of over $5M by J.R Ranch Incorporated Construction Services and features a specialised EBS soil solutions surface sealer, which lengthens the life of the airstrip, cut maintenance costs and reduces the impact of dust pollution. The minister said the hinterland airstrip project is a small part of a ten-point plan proposed by President David Granger for the development of the hinterland.
He told residents that while government invests in their development, they must take the business-like approach, pushing tourism for further expansion in the community. “We are investing…we would like to see results. We are going to support you but you have to realise that this is yours… all the advice that has been given to you, take it … own it! Surama! Tourism! You have to get aggressive. Come out of the box, climb on the hills and look down to see what you have to manage. We have a beautiful surrounding here. See how you could market it so tourists buy packages in the thousands so it would justify how we could open up.”
Jokingly, he added, “You have the airstrip but if the aircraft don’t land we might very well put 40 cricket pitches on it!”
“Having an airstrip is not the end of it… most of the persons have that quality to bring to this nation the respect that it deserves and this is the angle that we would like to take… to show how partnership works.”
Meanwhile, Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Anette Ferguson said government is considering policy to ensure the proper maintenance and development of airstrips in the hinterland regions.
“We have started to work to ensure that we have a policy because many of these aerodromes do not have proper lighting facility, there is the absence of fencing among other things. It is very risky, especially if you have to do flights by night. It is by God’s grace and guidance that these pilots, they assemble properly and they take off safely,” Minister Ferguson said.
She said government has already dispatched a team comprising technicians from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to have assessments done throughout hinterland. The team is currently in Region 9. She praised the new soil solutions surface sealer system used in the construction of the airstrip saying that she felt pleased that there was no presence of dust when the aircraft landed as the high-level team ventured into the area.
“I trust that we can adapt this throughout the other regions where we have aerodromes so that our aircrafts and our passengers can land safely,” the Minister said. She indicated that government will empower village leaders and skilled individuals to manage and maintain the airstrip, creating employment and offering a sense of ownership.
“Maintenance of these aerodromes (is) very critical. At the level of the ministry we will develop a new system. Instead of having people outside of your community maintaining these aerodromes, we want to empower the village councilors or whoever the groupings are to have the aerodromes maintained. I have already started negotiations with Vice President to have village councilors identified so monies can be handed over for maintenance of airstrip”, creating employment and development of the people.
