The birth of significant landmarks
Editorial
Kaieteur News
February 23, 2007
It is not often that people construct landmarks in one's lifetime. Very few persons aged 30 could imagine life without Le Meridien Pegasus or the Bank of Guyana. These landmarks were constructed even before this country attained its independence.
Certainly, no one alive could imagine life without the Georgetown Cricket Club or without the lighthouse. These are all significant landmarks in the country. Some of them have become national heritage monuments and attract funding from Central Government to ensure their continued existence.
The Bank of Guyana and Le Meridien Pegasus were constructed at about the same time and represented a significant landmark in the annals of this country. They changed the landscape and the latter helped accommodate visitors who would not normally have come to this country for an extended period.
Since then, there have been other landmarks, to wit the CARICOM Secretariat, the International Conference Centre, both of which opened their doors last year, and the Ocean View International Hotel.
But there has been the need for other landmarks because a generation always looks to something to remember that period in its history. It is for this reason that some people hold on to music of a certain era. The music, they say, evokes memories. It takes them back to a time and place where they were enjoying a moment of bliss or when something remarkable occurred.
And as long as these people remain on the face of this earth, they do their utmost to make that musical era remain alive. It is for this reason one hears of back-in-time and ‘oldies' parties. These are occasions that allow people to escape back to the days that they choose to remember.
The recent opening of Buddy's International Hotel and the imminent commissioning of the National Stadium at Providence are going to be treasured moments for yet another generation of Guyanese. They have witnessed the erection of these landmarks from the midst of what used to be cane fields.
What makes these structures remarkable is their unique design. The stadium is the first and only of its kind in this country. It represents a breakthrough in this country's ability to co-host an international cricket tournament. For the first time this country would have a cricket facility that satisfies international criteria.
But the gem has to be Buddy's International Hotel. Not only is it the largest hotel to be constructed in this country, it is also a facility that, if transplanted to any part of the world, would pass muster.
Barring the physical appearance, this hotel also opens a new chapter in the local hotel industry. At best, none of the hotels were ever tested to feed more than a few dozen people at the same time. It would have been a nightmare for the staff to prepare breakfasts, lunches and suppers for more than 50 people over a stretch. This will no longer be the case.
But for all the talk the hotel is not yet complete. A hotel of that magnitude is costly and there is no single Guyanese who could muster that kind of money. Indeed, when the owner, Omprakash Shivraj undertook the venture he must have underestimated the cost factor.
In the end the government has had to lend its support, much to the disquiet of sections of the society. But the opponents need to realise that any failure on the part of Mr. Shivraj would have been translated into a failure of this country. Any glory that comes to that landmark will be glory to this country.
If only for this reason, one must recognise the significance of the government's contribution. And down the years when the edifice would remain standing as a testimony to the era when Guyana made that quantum leap to become an international host, all Guyana would see the importance of a decision that attracted criticisms.
It was no different when Guyana moved to secure its independence. There were critics, but today everyone in this country acknowledges the significance of independence.
Will there be other landmarks in this country? Surely. But any new landmark would take some doing to surpass Buddy's International Hotel and the National Stadium.