Dear Editor,
The antics of this government and its apologists who have been engaged in defending the perverse agreement to grant the contractor carte blanche approval to import wholesale the entire manpower requirement for the construction of the Marriott Hotel, would have been sublime comedy were it not for the serious matter of the denial of scores Guyanese tradesmen the opportunity of earning a livelihood in their native land.
From all the photographs of the construction site appearing in the press, even I, whose only acquaintance with building construction is having two sons who are contractors in Barbados and whose worksites I would visit on occasion, can observe that the present phase of work entails the construction of the foundations and the columns which will support the superstructure of the hotel. One can clearly see a lot of steel being bent to shape the skeleton of the foundation and columns along with boxes (forms) to encase these into which concrete is poured. These activities mainly require steel benders, carpenters and labourers, and are skills that are abundant in Guyana among many construction workers, some of whom have returned home from the Caribbean.
Bye the way, the great technology which Dr Gopaul was gushing over as obviating the need for spirit levels, is merely a new kind of levelling device that uses laser technology to accomplish the same outcome as the traditional level, and has been around for some time. These can be found in almost any hardware store in Barbados and a neophyte can master the technology in less than an hour.
No great technological skills are required at this stage, just unbelievable hypocrisy and enormous blinkers.
Yours faithfully,
GND Williams
