Guyana to allow charter flights for CARIFESTA
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| Published on Monday, July 21, 2008 |
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By Kevin Lindon
Caribbean Net News Guyana Correspondent
Email: kevin@caribbeannetnews.com
GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo has announced that country delegations arriving for the CARIFESTA X celebrations would be granted permission to enter Guyana by chartered flights; a decision he hoped would address possible flight shortages during the festival.
Jagdeo, who said he was thus far satisfied with the preparation for the ten-day event, came to this decision following growing concerns of insufficient flights and the increase in the price for airline tickets.
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| Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo. AFP PHOTO |
The Guyanese leader said that, so far, one country has signalled its intention to arrive by charter.
“I had a briefing that it was Antigua that indicated that they will fly their people in through a charter and fly them out back, and we will probably give permission for those charters to come in to supplement the regular airlines that are here,” Jagdeo said. “It would be cheaper to bring people in through the charter and more convenient, so we would be encouraging more delegations to do that.”
The president said that the issue of other country delegations arriving by various means of transportation would also be addressed.
“I gathered that the Venezuelans will be coming by boat so we may be able to address that,” Jagdeo said.
Additionally, the Suriname delegation is expected to arrive here using the overland buses.
Meanwhile, the Guyanese leader when asked about his view of the country’s preparedness for the mega cultural event said that he was satisfied with the planning of the event so far.
He remained optimistic that Guyana would be successful in hosting the event, but cautioned that it should not be viewed as another way to advance political agenda.
“I think the plans are going well. We are looking forward to a big CARIFESTA. We have had a lot of interest from abroad and as I said before it is not a political issue; CARIFESTA is not about politics -- it’s about our people bringing all our people together. This is a national effort,” the president said.
CARIFESTA X will be held in Guyana from August 22 to 31, under the theme “One Caribbean, One Culture, Our Purpose, Our Life”. Already some 29 countries have confirmed their participation in the ten days of over 100 cultural events. | | | | Reads : 195 | | | |
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