Holland approached for sea defence aid - President goes One-on-One
President Bharrat Jagdeo has approached the Dutch government for additional assistance, especially skilled personnel to work on Guyana's sea defences. The approach was made through the Dutch Ambassador accredited to this country. The country's sea defences was among several matters which were raised when the Guyanese leader went One-on-One with journalist Cecil Griffith to talk about his first 100 days in office. While acknowledging that the state of the country's sea defences could be due to an accumulation of years of neglect, the President agreed with the findings of a Dutch consultancy, which was carried in the Stabroek News recently. According to the President "to do a really good job would cost hundreds of millions of dollars." The Dutch consultants had criticised the government for not doing structural maintenance of the seawall at a pace required to grapple with the deterioration of the sea defences and for relying heavily on emergency works which cost three times as much. The President also revealed that he had introduced a time limit on the weekly meetings of his Cabinet and explained how he is coping with the trappings of office. In the one-hour programme, to be shown on GTV Channel 11 tonight at seven o'clock, President Jagdeo talks about the future of CARICOM, democracy, investment, relations between his government and the city council, the local media and his vision for Guyana. The programme will be rebroadcast during the weekend. (C.A.G).
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