While mum on how much was paid for the old Skyvan air frame it imported, the Guyana Defence Force yesterday said that it came “as part of a package” from a Belgian company and will be used for parts and not operational use.
“It must be noted that the airframe will not be put into operational service. However, it contains several structural parts which are in good condition and can be used, if required, to maintain operational aircraft,” the GDF yesterday said in a statement.
On Wednesday, Stabroek News reported that the rusted aircraft was being cleared at a city wharf but its purpose remained unclear.
This newspaper had tried contacting the GDF to ascertain how much of taxpayers’ money was spent on the old aircraft and its intended purpose to no avail.
The current purchase again raises the question of cost and feasibility of maintenance and if it is prudent for the army to be investing heavily in outdated items.
The GDF yesterday said that it “wishes to make it clear that the frame as well as a quantity of Skyvan spares were made available as part of a package from Belgian company, Aircraft Power Maintenance.”
Explaining that the stock of items received “has greatly augmented the holding of spares kept for the Sc7 Skyvans purchased in 2019”, by the APNU+AFC government, the army said that it will “provide many of the hard- to- source items required for the aircraft”.
“It will enable the Air Corps to better support the operation of its Skyvan fleet for the remaining lifespan of each aircraft”, the release said.
“It must be noted that the airframe will not be put into operational service. However, it contains several structural parts which are in good condition and can be used, if required, to maintain operational aircraft,” it added.
In 2018, the one-seat majority APNU+AFC government had in the National Assembly approved $484.2 million in extra budgetary funds to facilitate the acquisition of four reconditioned aircraft – two Skyvans and two Britten-Norman Islanders – for the GDF.
The two models are no longer in production. The Islanders were first manufactured in 1976, while Skyvans were first manufactured in 1977.
The PPP/C had heavily criticised the purchase of the aircraft and questioned why government would invest so much in items that were no longer in production, since sourcing parts would likely prove difficult.
PPP/C MP, former Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, was one of the opposition parliamentarians who had quizzed then Minister of State Joseph Harmon, and had said that he still had mixed feelings about the procurement of the aircraft.
“On one hand, it’s needed but on the other hand, all those questions: age, availability of parts and personnel and its deviation from the green agenda… that I raised in Parliament will be ongoing issues which should attract the attention of the people who are buying them,” he had said.
For him, the cost associated with the purchase should have been a primary concern, given the expected maintenance and potential difficulty in sourcing parts since the aircraft are no longer being produced.
Rohee had described them as “workhorses,” useful for “lifting load and things like that.” He noted that this is one of the models that will be useful for Guyana “with respect to the airstrips and so on.”
Then Minister of State and Defence Board member Harmon had defended the purchase, saying he had seen a preliminary report and it “looks good.” According to him, based on the reports of those who had inspected the aircraft in Brazil, it was a “very, very good buy.”
Harmon told Parliament that both models being procured will work well on the local airstrips, most of which are short, as they allow for short take offs and landings.
Only when pressed by the PPP/C did Harmon disclose where the planes were purchased from and he had said that the Skyvans would have been brought from Belgium but were sourced through Liberty Aviation, an American company located in North Carolina.
