St. Vincent and the Grenadines is scheduled to get its first international airport by December 2014. But the airport has already missed several proposed completion dates. I-Witness News’ Kenton X. Chance visited the site on Wednesday, March 19th, 2014 and filed this report on the progress.
I noticed in the News Newspaper week before last a big advert whereby Patrick Ferrari was offering odds against the airport not being finished and open in 2014.
He is willing to pay out EC$10,000 to a placement of EC$1000 with him, he is saying it will not be finished the taker will be saying it will be finished.
I understand from a mutual friend not a single enquiry never mind taking up the bet.
Now seeing as Gonsalves says it is going to be finished why do not the three family members, the countries owners, Gonsalves & Son & Cousin place their bets, if they are so sure let them put their money where their nepotistic mouths are.
Whether the airport is actually completed or not by the end of December, the PM will proclaim that it is completed just as he has called other incomplete projects completed over the past 10 years to gain maximum political leverage for the next election.
This means elections at the end of February 2015 even though the airport will still be far from operational not only because no major international airlines will find it profitable to come here but because the training of personnel and the arrival of vital equipment will still be in the planning stage. For example, there will be no training of firefighters (who will have to meet international standards) and no firefighting equipment by the next election.
Despite these inconvenient truths, the ULP will likely win the next election because the (m)asses will be overjoyed to have a “completed” airport they will never be able to fly out of and the rest of the world will never want to fly in to.
The Romans were masters of “bread and circus.” The Argyle airport is Dr. Gonsalves’ masterstroke promise of both.