Photos by Jules Gibson
This week we asked the man and woman in the street what they thought of the government giving $40 million to the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) to pave the race track at South Dakota. Their responses follow:
Dexter Garnett, promoter and body builder – ‘I think that is a good initiative repaving the tracks. At the same time however I hope they make similar contributions to the other sport disciplines.’
Autry Fernandes, retired teacher – ‘The money will be of immense help because it is good to modernise the circuit which could attract more racers and encourage young people to get involved in racing. It will also attract tourists.’
Esther Nelson, unemployed – ‘They should use the money to do something more important. They have a lot of children on the road not doing anything things should be put in place to gainfully occupy these children time. The money could also be used to improve medical care for persons who can’t afford it or it can go to the education sector.’
C Lewis, private sector employee – ‘I think the government should give them $20 million and let them raise the rest. I think they have the capacity and ability to raise funds to do their own track.’
Charles Sampson, public sector employee – ‘Given the state that the circuit is in it really needs developing. I went up there for work and I saw the state, it could use some work. The money came in a good time since they really need the help.’
Keith Riley, private sector employee – ‘To me I don’t think they should spend a whole $40 million on it. They should use the money to do some improvements on Georgetown such as cleaning up the place. I know that the circuit need a lot of work but not all of that money should go towards it. They should give them half of that money and use the other half to pay city workers to keep the capital clean.’
Charmaine Blackman, singer – ‘It’s a good idea. We’ve been having a lot of people coming from other countries to perform so we need better facilities to accommodate them. But at the same time we also need to plug $40 million into the music industry. Better stage facilities and better payments for artistes.’
Melissa Cupidore, private sector employee – ‘I think it’s a good idea and it would give potential racers encouragement and boost as well as a boost to the racing fraternity. It is an expensive sport to get into so I think the money is okay.’
Dionne, public sector employee – ‘I think it’s a good initiative. It will give families a chance to spend good quality recreational time together while enjoying the races.’
Marlyn Davis, teacher – ‘I think it’s quite a lot of money to put into one investment. When you invest so much money into a project your returns must be higher or equal to what you invest. I don’t know how much the returns from these events at the circuit generate. I don’t know if it’s a feasible gesture or a political gimmick.’
