Dear Editor,
As it relates to certified taxi drivers at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, I must first state that there are many decent, pleasant, respectful and elegantly dressed drivers who help to market our country to tourists and Guyanese alike. They provide the initial impression of this country to the world and in many cases, have helped to enhance our reputation.
However, there are those who bring shame to Guyana by indulging in vulgarity and abusing passengers (asking for a small piece) at this airport.
On Tuesday, January 10, 2017, I was at the airport and I was very dissatisfied, shocked and embarrassed upon picking up my dear mother, to observe the behaviour of a taxi driver dressed in his uniform speaking loudly to other taxi drivers (some illegal) in the presence of incoming foreigners. He was clearly trying to make a spectacle of himself but his ignorance may have caused potential investors to be turned away.
With his mentality and the others going along with him, I asked myself: Don’t they know that they represent our nation? He is supposed to be a guide and a tourism promoter, but instead he is embarrassing his country. We must remember that when people visit countries the first impression that they get is from our people.
Once I came from abroad and I took a taxi with a young man who was anxious to drive me down. Our destination was Light and Charlotte Streets, Georgetown, but he took a route through Albouystown, Charlestown and Princes Street. In my mind, I thought he could have taken the Mandela Avenue into Brickdam route, where I could have seen some places of interest and also observed the infrastructure of the capital city. I was saddened that a man who should be marketing our country, decided to drive on roads with potholes, bumps and no traffic signs. After I got to my destination, I paid him his due without a tip.
On another occasion, myself and my family arrived at the airport and we needed a minibus to carry all of us along with our luggage. As I was asking, one minibus driver said, “you need to pay double”. I simply told him that he could not work in such an institution and take advantage of a customer, and I refused to pay him this price as man of discipline and as a patriot (although I had planned to pay extra in any case).
Following that statement, he refused to take me and my family, and all the other taxi drivers said that they would not either. This made me believe that they were all working together for each other to get their way by exploiting passengers. I began to imagine the level of disrespect and hustle that other Guyanese and foreigners face at the hands of such deceitful airport taxi and bus drivers. It is reasonable to mention that after this incident occurred the management of the CJIA sanctioned and suspended the bus driver. Later, a senior official of the airport called and apologized sincerely for the ordeal.
I wish to advise the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the management of CJIA that classes should be given to the drivers on courtesy, respect and hospitality as they are expected to behave with a certain decorum and class. They should be instructed or guided to show visitors to the places of entertainment, worship and national importance. I wish to reiterate that there are many elegant and decent drivers at present, but there are a few who operate in hooligan fashion who need to be sanctioned.
Incidentally, on January 17 between 07:30 hrs and 08:30 hrs, I was shocked to see a vulgar quarrel between two of the uniformed taxi drivers attached to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. I believe that if management checks the CCTV cameras, they should be able to view the entire incident which happened in the presence of many foreigners. I have travelled to Trinidad, Suriname, Barbados, Dominica and even Venezuela; also to New York, India, Egypt, Canada, Europe, London and Moscow and have never seen any such vulgarity exhibited by taxi drivers of an international airport. I think that in some cases, suspension might work, but termination is most effective in many situations. When people are contracted for these services, those who abuse the position must be penalized and their licences suspended. It is unfortunate that some people only understand when they are made to feel. I believe that tourism will play a major role in the development of Guyana and am calling on the board of the CJIA, the Ministry of the Presidency, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to look into this matter urgently.
Yours faithfully,
Roshan Khan
