The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

STABILITY in the country’s economic, education and environmental sectors were hailed as “successful examples” for Caribbean states by President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana David Granger this weekend during an exit interview with local press.

In an address moments before he boarded his return flight Saturday, concluding a three-day state visit to The Bahamas, the retired Brigadier General commended the Christie administration for sustaining one of the region’s premier countries in the wake of one of the world’s most severe economic downturns.

General Granger, in the presence of Prime Minister Perry Christie at the Lynden Pindling International Airport’s VIP Lounge Saturday, said he viewed the three sectors as “important lessons” that could be adopted and adapted by every other country in the region, adding that his “economic visit” to The Bahamas would be viewed as a success in his country despite not returning with any written agreements.

General Granger, who throughout his time in The Bahamas pointed out that the Caribbean stood as a fragmented region that could advance through cooperation, said his belief was emboldened by what he witnessed specifically in Grand Bahama.

He said that the “sincere and successful” effort to by the government to deal with the economic issues plaguing the communities there showed him that “patience,” “passion” and “forward-thinking” were factors that could aid in his country’s efforts.

General Granger accompanied Mr Christie on a trip to Freeport, Grand Bahama, last Friday.

Of the trip, he said: “We liked what we saw. It may just be container terminals, it may be just shipyards; but we saw at the second level, and I like to mention this, the work that is being done in education and for the youth. Because just going to the Hugh Campbell Primary School, you could feel the energy from those young people and I would like to come back 20 years from now.

“The Bahamas has set an example to the rest of the Caribbean as to how we can transform smallness and poverty into economic power,” he stated.

General Granger said his country would adopt the premise, “smallness doesn’t necessarily mean weakness,” from The Bahamas moving forward.

“There is no doubt, the government of The Bahamas has shown the way for small states and is a lesson and example for other states to learn. I have also emphasised that in some areas, particularly in the areas of our economical development, our tourism, we could learn from the tremendous years of experience and the wealth of expertise that we saw in The Bahamas, to develop our tourist product.”

He added: “I would like to feel that in more business like visits, my ministers would be coming back to work one on one with the responsible minister on the Bahamian side to ensure that these lessons are not just filed away, but that they become the pillars of partnership between what they call, the northern most English speaking Caribbean state and the southern most English speaking Caribbean state. So you have not seen the last of us.”

Last week’s visit marked General Granger’s first official visit to The Bahamas.

His country, like many other nations in South America, is battling through a massive economic decline.

In addition to that ordeal, the country is reported to be locked into a territorial dispute with neighbouring Venezuela, something that has seen “battle ready” warships move into Guyanese waters over the course of the last two years.

According to General Granger, his journey to The Bahamas was geared around finding feasible logistical concepts that could be implemented by his country to ease the grip of the continent’s economic woes.

‘Grateful’

In response to his praise of the Bahamas on Saturday, Mr Christie said the objective praise was something his administration was intrigued to hear, adding that the Bahamian populace could now see and hear from countries in similar conditions and compare and contrast the rate at which The Bahamas is performing.

Mr Christie, noting how “grateful” he was for the president’s comments, said his administration has from a fiscal point of view “done all it could” given the demands of our country.

Cautioning the public over the opposition’s “doom and gloom talk”, Mr Christie added: “Unlike any other country in the region, and I argue even in the hemisphere, we have an island nation that requires duplication resources - schools, hospitals, clinics, roads, water and it is a work in progress, it costs a lot of money.”

Advancing his argument, Mr Christie contended that his government has to manage and promote a total of 28 airports, several of which have to operate international flights.

He said his administration has gauged estimates on how much it would take to move these facilities to international standards - $150m, he noted.

Mr Christie added: “You don’t earn that, you have to go out and borrow it …… it adds to the national debt.”

The point was supported by General Granger who noted that his country, which is larger than The Bahamas, has only two airports to manage.

Mr Christie noted that most countries in the region are grappling with similar problems and a united effort, in time, could alleviate the pressures faced by all in the region.

To thank The Bahamas for hosting him and members of his delegation, General Granger presented Mr Christie with a painting of a jaguar; the animal is considered noble in Guyana.

Additionally, General Granger pledged to ship several of his nation’s national tree crops to the Bahamas as a part of Guyana’s National Tree Day celebration later this year.