Many benefits with planned ferry service

THE EDITOR: News of the impending sea link among Barbados, TT and Guyana in the southern Caribbean is most welcome. It offers integration, interaction and a desired cost-effective means of transport.

It was in 1956 that we had the kind donation of two vessels – the Federal Maple and Federal Palm – from Canada to mark our political federation. Many people recall the tremendous benefits of the facility to travel at relatively low cost.

The recent announcement of the ferry service by President Irfaan Ali of Guyana is like something of a dream coming true. The integration of the region is paramount to giving meaning to Caricom.

As of now travel within the region is mainly by air and is extremely expensive at that. Amazingly, it costs about the same to travel to the US as within our region.

With the additional availability of sea bridges already in existence between Guyana-Suriname and Trinidad-Tobago, the new service will be complimented.

The concept of the Caribbean being an affordable area for travel brings with it the tremendous potential for the vast and varied tourism opportunities. We literally have it all – from big buildings to sea, sand and surf, to the eco-friendly tours and adventure.

Notable too is that the three-way ferry service is intended as a forerunner to a proposed larger service encompassing the entire Caribbean.

Equally viable is that the cargo availability, with the aim of reducing our Caricom food import bill by "25 per cent by 2025," will enhance that objective further. Produce of the region would be more available to a larger market.

The availability of part of the South American continent as partners in Caricom is of tremendous benefit to the region.

Preceding Caricom, we sought and actually merged Guyana and Suriname in sports, mainly cricket and football. It was foresightful of our sports administrators to go that way, especially with the formation of the Caribbean Football Union as recently as 1978.

A new day seems to be dawning on the region with tremendous potential for our development, interaction and integration.

Leroy Calliste, our iconic artiste, advised us in his immortal calypso The Caribbean Man: "So we must push one common intention for a better life in the region,/For we women and we children,/That must be the ambition of the Caribbean man."

Are we on the road to realising this?

LENNOX SIRJUESINGH

Chaguanas