There has been some debate in our letters column about the wisdom of including $184M in the budget for the purpose of constructing airstrips on Leguan and Wakenaam. The 2008 Budget had earmarked $108M for the same purpose, but no steps were taken towards implementation, and a larger allocation was made for this year. When this newspaper sent reporters to both Wakenaam and Leguan, the residents showed no enthusiasm for the project at all; in fact Stabroek News was told that they did not regard it a priority, and there were far more meaningful programmes in which the money could be invested.
On Wakenaam some residents identified the plight of the rice farmers, the repair of roads, the high unemployment rate and the need for a water treatment plant as matters requiring urgent attention. Others referred to the erratic electricity supply on the island, the serious drainage problems in the rice fields, the parlous state of the sea defences and the lack of recreational facilities, particularly for young people. There was also mention of the need for an incinerator or landfill site. One rice farmer said that when he first heard about the proposal he thought “dem deh jokin”; however, some of the residents said they had been told nothing about it at all.
The story on Leguan was very much the same. The sea defences were in a poor state and the drainage canals were blocked. Infrastructural work was needed to deal with a perennial flooding problem, the roads were potholed and unemployment was high. As in Wakenaam, the rice farmers particularly were facing difficulties. As for electricity, our reporter was told that between Monday and Thursday it was provided from 4 pm until 8 am the next morning, and thereafter on a twenty-four hour basis. In general, the island had an undeveloped appearance, and we were told that most families were poor. Some of them, it was said, had difficulty mustering the $500 for the speedboat fare to Parika so raising the money for an airfare was beyond the bounds of reality.
In our Wednesday edition we reported that according to the Regional Chairman Julius Faerber, the authorities had held consultations with residents before the decision was taken to go ahead with the airstrips. He said that a team which had included Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Kellawan Lall and himself had met with residents of both islands some time last year. Exactly how many people had been consulted during this exercise is perhaps a moot point; what usually happens on these occasions is that the officials are ensconced in one location such as a school or other official building, and residents are invited to the meeting. Even if the message about the meeting was circulated efficiently – which it may well not have been – probably only a limited number of residents would have bothered to turn up. In any event, whatever consultations were held, they clearly did not succeed in alerting the majority of the affected population to government intentions.
As it is, therefore, a substantial number of residents feel that they were not consulted, and as said above, a large number seem opposed to the idea. Our reporter was informed that in the case of Leguan a petition was being drawn up to present to the authorities. One thing the Ministry of Local Government has not done is explain to the public exactly what the logic behind the airstrips is. Surely it is not an isolated project; it must fit in with some larger development plan that it has in mind, otherwise what would be the point of it? As already mentioned, the cost of flying themselves, let alone their produce out of the islands would be prohibitive for most of the residents in the current depressed circumstances, so who exactly will the airstrips serve? One Wakenaam resident expressed the view that they would only function as transshipment points for contraband fuel and narcotics, an observation which was also made by one of our letter writers. In addition, it was pointed out to us in the case of Leguan that the North road, which would lead to the proposed airstrip, is nothing but a network of potholes, so under current conditions the strip, should it be laid out, would be barely accessible.
Wakenaam and Leguan are fertile islands, but they are sadly underdeveloped. In the early 1990s, for example, the population of the former was said to have been around 16,000, but it has now declined to 5,000 – the same size as Leguan. They clearly have agricultural potential, but with infrastructure which is so deteriorated and the lack of opportunities for young people, there can be no progress. The airstrip project is still in its initial stages, so there is still time for the Ministry of Local Government to rethink it, and listen to what the inhabitants have to say. Now that most of them have been made aware of it, they would no doubt turn out for a Minister’s meeting, providing it was properly advertised and they were given notice. If there is merit in the project which has not emerged, then the authorities should outline how it fits in to their larger schemes, and why it is they have to begin with that rather than something more obviously beneficial to residents.
If the residents are not persuaded by the authorities, then the latter should abandon the idea, and listen carefully to proposals which those who try to earn their living in the islands have to make. Imposing a project which the inhabitants don’t want and will just end up being a white elephant makes absolutely no sense at any level.