June 23, 2013, Kaieteur News, Opinion, Caribbean Airlines have us where it hurts,

June 23, 2013, Kaieteur News, Opinion, Caribbean Airlines have us where it hurts, 

I have always heard that Guyana is a blessed country, that it is not hit by hurricanes and it does not experience earthquakes. Of course, should one hurricane pass through Guyana there would be nothing left standing, largely because of the manner in which we construct out homes.

An earthquake would be equally devastating because our homes would come collapsing like a pack of cards with us inside. Recent evidence revealed that we spend most of our time indoors. We are either in a house, in an office, in a pub or rum shop or in a night club or restaurant. Those of us on the outside would not be safe either. If we are in the city, perhaps on Regent Street then the buildings would come crashing down on us.
Of course such things would never happen to us because we are a blessed people who simply do not know how to treasure what we have. We have wasted so many good opportunities that we are now left to wonder why the rest of the world disrespects us and why our young people seem hell bent for a life of crime and hostility.

The politicians have not been helpful. They separated the country into ‘us and them’ with each seeking to expose the other, right down to his most basic fault. For starters, Forbes Burnham was supposed to be the biggest thief to the point that Forbes magazine listed him as the fifth richest man in the world. There were Guyanese who believed this bit of rubbish, although to this day the people making the claim cannot produce the magazine or find any of the money Burnham was said to have stolen.

Times changed and the politicians who made the claims of thievery against Burnham came to power. Again there were reports of theft this time from the others who were at one time in the driving seat. No one has been able to find proof that Burnham or his Ministers were thieves. Today their humble lifestyle reveals what they acquired while in office.

The same cannot be said for the present rulers. Nearly all of them have constructed mansions, own more than one mansion, drive the most expensive cars and spend money as though it has no value. Twist it and turn it how one wishes, this is a blessed country, because those who have got their money through questionable means are not being made to account for their wealth.

Just last week, there was a report that the British High Commission refused to sell a property to a young man who was prepared to pay twice the asking price. Don't ask why.

For starters, the man entrusted with the task of asking the questions is afraid to do so. It is as if the present rulers are the Lord’s anointed and the edict ‘Touch not the Lord’s anointed’ applies.

Anyhow, we come to the issue of the plight of this blessed country. I watched the decline in education and shook my head in pity. For the first time I am seeing a large number of young people who cannot read and write. That was something that was the curse of old people, who, had they been alive today, would have been at least 120 years old.

Then I watched how many efforts and good intentions failed to blossom. After forty-seven years of independence, we are still to make anything other than furniture. As one man told me, we don’t even make a bicycle spoke.

I watched people run out of the country. For two decades, the late Dr Cheddi Jagan said that the people were running from the Forbes Burnham administration. More people are leaving these days and Burnham died almost twenty-eight years ago.

But one thing could be said; we have road networks opening sections of the country that were almost inaccessible. And there was a national airline that transported Guyanese to the metropolis. I remember that before the advent of the national airline, the cost of air travel to New York was about US$750 round trip. That price crashed to just over US$450 when Guyana Airways entered the market.

Guyana Airways collapsed when the new government took office. A group of businessmen bought it and for a while they tried to keep it afloat. Then they gave up. Other airlines came and went; many flopped, causing Guyanese to lose millions of dollars in addition to being stranded. But for all that, Caribbean Airlines was there battling with whatever was thrown its way.

Today, Caribbean Airlines is still here. It is the only international airline operating out of Guyana but that has a tremendous cost to Guyanese. They have never been asked to pay so much, almost four times what they paid when Guyana Airways operated and two times what they paid when Delta operated up to May 6, last.
Some see this as capitalising on a bad situation; others see it as price gouging. But for all the talk there is nothing we could do. If we get Caribbean Airlines mad, all they have to do is to keep two flights out of Guyana. The noise would be heard till to Office of the President.

With all the rich people around and the rush by Guyana to have anti-money laundering legislation, one would have thought that some of them would have poured their excess money into an airline. This does not seem to be the case.

There are those who will travel, regardless, but there are others who will watch their leave passage entitlement that allowed them to buy an airline ticket last year, and cry bitter tears this time around.

The Trinidadians must be wondering at the number of Guyanese travelling to their country. Some smart people have found that it is so much cheaper to buy a ticket to Trinidad and make a connection to New York or Canada. But the Trinidadians have also found that they could hike the cost of the ticket to Trinidad.

Caribbean Airlines have us by what the English would call the short and curlies. The Guyanese would say that they have us by the cricketing tool, what the Spanish call cojones