Dear Editor,
There is one recent sad video showing a tractor stuck and spinning its wheels while trying to pull out stuck cars and trucks on Easter Monday, as vehicles tried to exit the No. 63 Beach. In all my travels, I have not seen vehicles allowed on beaches as at No. 63 Beach. There was another previous recent video showing the ocean waters coming in and getting close to a line of vehicles trying to exit, as vehicles ahead were stuck and the traffic could not move. That was scary. The No. 63 Beach, is a major beach in Guyana but has been neglected and undeveloped for over six decades. Last time I visited, there was trash everywhere. Shame on the Region Six authorities, the NDC folks, all the Chambers of Commerce in Berbice, and the people themselves for being so docile in not fighting aggressively for developing the beach.
No. 63 Beach can be an ongoing national tourist attraction and entertainment hub providing much recreational opportunities for all Guyanese. Should this project not be the number one priority that will have daily/weekly use, compared to the recent announcement of a new stadium and mall for Palmyra? Editor, what do you think? A hotel in this area would be an excellent idea too. There is so much recreational as well as business potential at No. 63 Beach! Where is the entrepreneurial and political leadership? Part of the problem of such long neglect is the recurring political syndrome of thinking that “George-town is Guyana,” and “New Amsterdam is Berbice.” Whatever happened to that road contractor who removed sand from the beach? Was he penalized appropriately or did his political friends save him? As we think about developing the beach, vehicles should not be allowed to drive on the beach as they do now. Provisions must be made for parking, accommodation, water sports, proper lighting, trash collection and disposal, security, and a permanent governance authority, etc.
I don’t understand how people can sit amidst trash all around them enjoying themselves and not be bothered, or make efforts to secure their personal trash. It’s disgusting how there is such peaceful coexistence with trash at the beach. Stop announcing big, national infrastructural projects and start repaving the streets in our villages where we live every day. Concrete the drains. We don’t want to keep smelling stink mud all the time. Please start at Whim, our patience is wearing thin. In the matter of the development of No. 63 beach, hopefully the President would drive the process for a quick completion, as he did with the Georgetown sidewalk project as a matter of urgency. Please, also, do some work on the Number 6 and Number 2 beaches on West Berbice. The peoples’ immediate needs come first, not imposed projects politicians are excited about for their own reasons.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jerry Jailall
