WE LET OURSELVES DOWN
Peeping Tom
Kaieteur News
April 3, 2007
As if the Guyana leg of the Super Eight round of Cricket World Cup was not bedeviled by sufficient problems, the West Indies had to lose their encounter last Sunday with Sri Lanka and thus break the hearts of thousands of Guyanese who must be asking what more embarrassment, humiliation and shame they must endure for the remainder of this tournament.
From water woes, to the late installation of a conveyor belt at the country's main airport, to the poor state of the toilets at the national stadium, to the non-appearance of traffic lights, Guyana failed to put things right for this tournament.
While the comments of one foreign correspondent about Guyana has been rightly condemned, it must be said in fairness that the President of Guyana must of necessity fire some people after this tournament is over, because there are a lot of things that should have been in place that were not in place.
In fact, I was hoping that during the matches the President could have made a tour of the stands of the stadium so that the Peeper could have given him an introduction to the deplorable state of the toilets which were used by over ten thousand fans during last Sunday's match.
The national cricket stadium at Providence reminds me of a baseball arena. It has that feel about it. However, in terms of the sanitary facilities and organization it cannot compare with what exists outside of Guyana .
On the day of the big match, the Peeper made the mistake of going into one of the washrooms below the North West stand. The floor of the washroom was soaking wet and its condition while understandably catering for a couple of thousands of cricket fans was not in keeping with desirable standards if Guyana expects to make the grade.
As if that was not embarrassment enough a mangy dog somehow found its way onto the cricket field, much to the amusement of the sold out gallery. There is a huge fine for spectators who find themselves onto the playfield. I wonder what would be the consequences for that dog that found its way onto the field on Sunday. How could a dog have bypassed all the strict security regulations in place? While the entire incident may seem funny, it is something that we should take seriously if Guyana is to ensure world-class standards.
On Sunday, the mound was over-populated even though we were assured that there would be no overselling of tickets. A terrible situation could have resulted because of the large numbers on the mound and I hope that the reason for so many persons in that area is examined.
The biggest embarrassment is of course the shoddy exterior of the stadium. There is a total lack of aesthetic appreciation in the exterior of the stadium. How can anyone build a national stadium which is quite nice inside but whose exterior is a disgrace?
I cannot by any stretch of imagination, contemplate how red sand can be thrown on the approach to the turnstiles. The entire front of the stadium should be pleasing to the eye because that is the first thing that visitors see and therefore it is that from which they will form their initial impressions. Why could the area not be grassed? Why could there not be a nice fountain to welcome the fans? The shoddy exterior of the stadium is inexcusable.
CWC 2007 was an opportunity to showcase Guyana . It was an opening to impress outsiders so that Guyana 's fledging tourist industry could take off.
Instead of impressing, we have turned Guyana again into the laughing stock of the Caribbean , best exemplified by the health advisory that persons should not drink water from the taps even if it is boiled.
Which tourist that was here is going to encourage his friends and family to come to a country which is staging a major sporting event for which it had seven years to prepare -far longer than GECOM had to sanitize the voter's list - and which in the midst of the tournament announces that it is not even safe to drink tap water even if it is boiled.
So just what should the people drink and who is going to send their young children on holiday in a country where not even boiled tap water is safe?
One week before the tournament was due to kick-off, the conveyor belt at the country's main airport was still being installed. And during the tournament itself the long-awaited traffic lights were being set up.
We are yet to learn about the actual numbers of visitors to the country for CWC 2007. The absence of India and Pakistan did affect the number of tourists but even without this section of cricket fan base, the number of tourists within the region was not as anticipated and it is clear to me that the 30,000 that Guyana expected did not materialize. This has hurt the pockets of many, especially the bed and breakfast services, leaving many in the red.
I wonder how the Ministry of Tourism will explain what it did to encourage visitors after it was clear from the early days of the tournament that the tourists were not coming in the numbers anticipated.
There are many other things that went wrong in this country and I hope that the President of Guyana has taken note of what has gone on and will take decisive action within the next week.
That may be wishful thinking on the part of the Peeper especially since it was announced on April Fools' Day that an anti-corruption committee is going to be established from within the Office of the President