2023-10-28 15:58:08
“We are used to damage, water and electricity shortages… Here, it’s system D, we always manage. But it’s true that the situation has never been so serious. » Listening to Philippe Dekon, professional integration trainer in Maripasoula, in western Guyana, describe his daily life, it is difficult to believe that this is French territory.
The road never reached this town of 12,000 inhabitants, located more than 200 kilometers from the coast. For years, the plane has been, despite uneven service, the main means of transport for the population. On September 29, this precarious balance was shattered when the Pointe-à-Pitre commercial court recorded the end of the Caire group (Inter-regional express airline), and the liquidation of its subsidiary, Air Guyane, the only to ensure these flights between the coast and the interior of the local authority.
The confined population
In response, the Territorial Collectivity of Guyana (CTG) – partly responsible for transport – set up an emergency public service delegation, with financial and logistical support from the prefecture. A 19-seater plane from the Chalair company was urgently chartered to ensure regular service and transport essential goods.
These trips are supplemented by the mobilization of helicopters from local private companies. In both directions, users must provide proof of a compelling reason, such as death, a medical appointment, or a business trip. “urgent”.
For the rest, the population is currently confined. In Maripasoula, the only alternative to flying is to reach the coast in two days by canoe. However, due to the dry season, the Maroni is at its low water level, making navigation particularly complicated and dangerous.
The flaws of the “all-air” model
“If we want to reach Cayenne without delay, we must cross the river to go to Suriname, take a plane taxi, reach Paramaribo (the capital of Suriname, Editor’s note) and from there, return to Cayenne”, hallucinates Philippe Dekon, who has been campaigning for several years within the Apachi collective, for an ambitious policy of opening up.
In addition to the Maripasoulians, more than 30,000 Guyanese, living in the five “isolated communes” of the territory, are experiencing an unprecedented deterioration in their living conditions. “With the end of Air Guyane, freight also stopped and prices increased drastically. We saw the water pack reach €26, it’s unbearable,” reports Michel-Ange Jérémie, president of the Association of Mayors of Guyana.
This unprecedented break in territorial continuity highlights the flaws in a model “all aerial” and the lack of infrastructure linking this territory of 300,000 inhabitants and more than 80,000 km². “The short-term objective is to create a real local airline subsidiary but we must also consider other solutions, road or river, by upgrading the Maroni to the status of a navigable river, for example”explains Chester Léonce, vice-president of the CTG in charge of transport.
The “River Route” project
Among the projects, the River Road, which should connect Maripasoula to the coast, opening up three of the five isolated municipalities in the department, is eagerly awaited by the population. A veritable sea serpent of local politics for two decades, the project was finally approved in 2016 in the Guyana regional development plan.
Since then, the site has not seen any notable progress, with the exception of the 32 kilometer development, the maintenance of which is also highly criticized by users. “The State keeps telling us that there is no money for roads. So, yes in France, you no longer need roads but here, we have real difficulties getting around”tance Chester Léonce.
On October 28 and 29, the Apachi collective is organizing the second edition of the general states of opening up, a large gathering of local elected officials to which state representatives are invited, expected at the turn. “We are talking about territorial continuity so we hope that this time the State will be there to respond to the suffering of the population,” summarizes Philippe Dekon. “We must understand that enclosure kills. It kills the economy, social life and any prospect of the future. »
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No serious buyer for Air Guyane
Heavily in debt and mired in unprecedented social conflict, the Caire group (Inter-regional express airline), owner of the regional companies Air Antilles and Air Guyane, was placed in compulsory liquidation on August 2, 2023.
After studying the files, the Pointe-à-Pitre commercial court authorized on September 29 the takeover of the company Air Antilles by the community of Saint-Martin and the private company Edeis, current owner of Grand-Case Espérance airport.
Regarding Air Guyane, on the other hand, the takeover files were not considered sufficiently solid by the court, which decided to definitively liquidate the company. 78 employees were laid off.
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