A new committee has been established to spearhead improvements at the Number 63 beach, Corentyne, in order to enhance it as a major tourist attraction.
Minister of Tourism, Manniram Prasad, had made this announcement during an activity at the beach on Easter Monday. He said the ministry had set up another committee “in an effort to improve the Number 63 Beach” and make it a tourist attraction.
According to a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA), the minister also said the committee was set up because, “We want to make sure that this beach is well organised,” and he added, “we had a committee previously but there were some problems.”
Prasad said members of the new Interim Management Committee would include “persons from the Regional Chairman’s office, the Neighbourhood Democratic Council, business community, residents in the surrounding areas and the Chamber of Commerce.”
The new committee became effective from Easter Monday and the ministry together with the members distributed brochures, garbage bags and information releases which included a list of rules and regulations, such as zoning regulations, user fees for vehicles, waste disposal procedures and fees for food and beverage concessions.
No entrance fees
However, the minister stated clearly that “nobody would be charged any entrance fees because this is the policy of the government.”
The upgrading of the Number 63 beach into a tourist resort started in 2002 by a management committee which was responsible for the construction of benabs and pavilions and the establishment of an access road.
Chairman of that committee, Principal Magistrate Krishndat Persaud said government had funded one of the pavilions but he managed to acquire donations from overseas-based friends to erect two others as well as seven benabs.
Persaud said that the committee which included a professor from the University of Guyana (Berbice campus), estate managers and representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, the region, the village council and the Environmental Protection Agency, stopped functioning over a minor matter and he was saddened to see that the structures were not maintained.
He said too that owing to negligence, one of the benabs “washed away” and he was also worried about the condition of the other structures.
He stated, however, that he was surprised to hear recently that another committee has been set up to make the beach a “tourist attraction,” despite the efforts the previous committee made to develop the beach.
The magistrate told Stabroek News in a recent interview that making the beach a tourist resort was the main focus of his committee but the effort “called for a lot of money.”
He recalled that government was not providing enough and for that reason the committee decided to collect a donation at the entrance “and we accounted for it.”
He said persons who were aware of the effort they were making towards the development of the beach gave generously.
Recounting how the committee fell apart, he said it was because of the interference of two regional officials during an activity at the beach over two years ago.
He said the officials telephoned President Bharrat Jagdeo and complained that he was charging an entrance fee.
He said the President requested to speak to him and even though he explained that the money was merely a donation to maintain the beach, he was told to desist.
He said he immediately resigned from the committee and since then no work was done at the beach but concerned persons kept asking him to go back and manage the facility.
He said also that because of the large number of persons who visit the beach with vehicles, a bottleneck had been created at the Number 63 entrance. The then committee decided to build another entrance at the Number 60-61 Side Line Dam through funding from government. But he is disappointed that the road has not been maintained.
He told Stabroek News that he grew up close to the beach and has its development at heart. He said the committee tried its best to upgrade the standard of the beach and ensured that it was monitored every day and cleaned regularly.
Persaud pointed out that initially there were wardens at the beach and the committee had tried to make them constables with power of arrest but the request was not granted.
He said former tourism minister Manzoor Nadir had sent him a letter when he resigned from the committee, acknowledging his contribution and thanking him on behalf of the ministry and on his own behalf for the good work.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (UCCC), David Subnauth, who resides close to the beach told this newspaper that Persaud had represented the chamber and reported at chamber meetings on the progress of the beach.
Subnauth said even though the beach is located in the Upper Corentyne, no member of the UCCC has been included in the new beach committee, but there is now a member of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce on the body. He said further that it was the initiative of the UCCC to form the committee to develop the beach and it has now been left out. He said, “When government saw the effort the committee was making they chipped in and now they take it [the beach] away.”
The head of the UCCC said “members of the committee had a lot of pride in the beach and always ensured that it was up to standard. The new committee has people from other areas and they would not have so much time to visit…”
Subnauth told this newspaper that the past committee “used to maintain the beach at a small cost; a resident used to fill the potholes with red brick and local carpenters built the structures for a small fee.”
He contended, “Now government would end up spending more money on the beach because they would have to give a subvention.”
