[www.inewsguyana.com] – Chief Executive Officer of Roraima Airways, Captain Gerry Gouveia has bemoaned the action of the combined Opposition for voting against the aviation sector’s allocation in the 2014 national budget.
He described it as a devastating blow to Guyana’s tourism sector.
“I can just say to you as a tourism operative here in Guyana, and as pilot and an airline owner, I am devastated because this has to do with people’s lives, this has to do with safety, this has to do with the new dispensation, the development of our airport…the development of this airport is so vital and crucial to the development of tourism and business development in Guyana,” Gouveia said.
The Opposition using their one-seat majority on April 10 voted against the budgetary allocation of $6.5Billion.
The vote against the project also affected the funding for other aviation services as $235M was budgeted under the same category for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Modernization Project.
$185M for hinterland/coastal airstrips and $50M for civil aviation equipment was also voted against in the process.
Gouveia said he was very perplexed over the development, as tourism bodies have been calling for investments in the sector.
“I really cannot fathom why they would interfere with the aviation budget that got to do with tourism and the creation of new jobs,” he reiterated.
