The recent announcements by the PPP government regarding the construction of seven additional hotels in Guyana reveal a staggering lack of vision and a disturbing disregard for the future of our youth. For over 27 years, the PPP has failed more than half of the Guyanese population with substandard schools, leaving many young people without a proper education and condemning them to a life of low-wage servitude in the burgeoning hotel industry.
These new hotels will inevitably employ mostly high school dropouts as busboys, servers, cleaners, security personnel, lobby staff, and general low paid workers. This bleak prospect is a direct result of the government’s decades-long neglect of the education system. While the children of government officials and the elite will attend the best private schools in Guyana and the finest foreign universities, the majority of our youth are left with few options but to toil in low-paying, menial jobs.
The disparity is glaring. The privileged few will enjoy the best opportunities in Guyana, becoming business owners, contractors, highly paid engineers, and oil and gas professionals. Meanwhile, the rest of the population is relegated to supporting roles in an industry notorious for low wages and limited career growth.
Moreover, the state of Guyana’s tourism infrastructure is abysmal and desperately needs a complete overhaul. Arriving at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) is a disappointing first view of our country. The road from the airport is dangerous and poorly lit, the homes along the East Bank corridor are mostly unkempt, and trash litters marketplaces and many places of interest. Customer service across Guyana is terrible, with restaurants that are expensive, overpriced, and consistently underdeliver in quality.
Adding to the skepticism is the fact that hotels are often hotbeds for money laundering. One must seriously question the economics behind the construction of ten new hotels when most unbranded hotels today operate under capacity. This raises significant concerns about the real motives behind such investments, suggesting that the government is more interested in facilitating financial malfeasance than genuinely developing the tourism sector.
In truth, Guyana’s tourism ministry is in desperate need of competent leadership and strategic vision. The current trajectory, under the guidance of a visionless government, is unsustainable and counterproductive. Instead of focusing on building hotels, the government should prioritize improving the quality of education, improving public servant wages, providing social safety nets for all citizens, investing in sustainable tourism infrastructure, and ensuring that all Guyanese have access to meaningful employment opportunities.
The PPP government’s plan to build more hotels, while neglecting the fundamental needs of the population, is a glaring indictment of their priorities. The people of Guyana should demand better. We need a government that invests in education, people, social services, common sense infrastructure, and genuine economic development, rather than one that perpetuates inequality and serves the interests of a select few.
The current administration’s actions demonstrate a troubling disconnect from the realities faced by the average Guyanese citizen. We must hold our leaders accountable and push for policies that uplift all citizens, not just the privileged elite. Only then can we hope to build a Guyana that offers true opportunities for all its people, rather than condemning the majority to a life of low-wage servitude.
