Dear Editor,
The state of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall once again exposes a troubling pattern that has become synonymous with the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration: extravagant public spending with questionable oversight, weak accountability, and disappointing results.
On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, visible water stains and active leaks were observed coming from the ceiling of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. A facility that underwent an expensive and highly publicised rehabilitation project under the stewardship of Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr. and the PPP/C Government.
This is not a minor issue. This is a national facility that taxpayers spent hundreds of millions of dollars to rehabilitate. The Guyanese people were promised a modernized, world-class sports complex capable of hosting regional and international events. Instead, what they are witnessing is a facility already displaying defects that should never appear so soon after rehabilitation works were completed. As a matter of the work has not been completed.
The rehabilitation project reportedly began with an estimated cost of approximately $221.6 million. However, over time, the costs ballooned significantly, with government disclosures later confirming expenditures surpassing $300 million. Reports in the public domain have placed the figure between $321 million and $351 million.
The question the public must ask is simple: where did all of this money go?
When taxpayers invest hundreds of millions into infrastructure, they expect durability, quality, and professionalism. They do not expect leaking ceilings, visible water damage, and questions surrounding the integrity of the works mere months or years after completion.
Unfortunately, the issue extends beyond the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall itself. This incident symbolises a broader culture of wasteful spending and weak project management that has increasingly characterised the PPP/C administration. Across Guyana, there are repeated concerns about inflated contracts, rushed projects, poor oversight, politically connected contractors, and a troubling absence of accountability when defects emerge.
The government continues to announce billion-dollar projects with great fanfare, but ordinary citizens are left wondering whether value for money is truly being delivered. In many cases, projects are unveiled with impressive headlines and ceremonial ribbon cuttings, only for structural issues, delays, maintenance problems, or cost overruns to surface shortly after.
The people of Guyana are not blind. They see roads deteriorating shortly after construction. They see drainage issues persisting despite major expenditures. They see recreational facilities requiring repairs shortly after rehabilitation. And now they are seeing water leaking from a sports facility that was supposedly transformed through hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.
This is why transparency and accountability matter.
The public deserves to know:
* Which contractors were awarded the rehabilitation works?
* Were all procurement procedures properly followed?
* Was there independent quality inspection of the works?
* Who signed off on the project as satisfactorily completed?
* Will taxpayers now be forced to spend even more money to repair defects that should not exist?
Minister Charles Ramson Jr. and the PPP/C Government cannot continue treating public criticism as political noise while taxpayers shoulder the burden of incompetence and mismanagement. Public officials are custodians of public funds, not owners of them.
At a time when many Guyanese continue struggling with the rising cost of living, housing concerns, transportation difficulties, and economic pressures, every dollar wasted through poor planning or inadequate supervision matters.
The Cliff Anderson Sports Hall should have been a symbol of national pride and sporting development. Instead, it is rapidly becoming another example of why Guyanese citizens are growing frustrated with the disconnect between government spending announcements and the actual quality of results delivered to the public.
The people of Guyana deserve better than cosmetic projects, inflated budgets, and leaking ceilings after hundreds of millions have already been spent.
Yours truly,
Onix A. Duncan
Politician/Advocate
