$3B investment by gov’t commended by Indigenous leaders

Government is being commended by Indigenous leaders for the recent announcement of $3B investment to be made in their communities. The $3B supplementary budget will be laid before the National Assembly on July 21 for approval.

President Irfaan Ali made the disclosure on Thursday, when he addressed the over 200 leaders at the National Toshaos Conference. Ali prior to the announcement, had asked that the leaders document interventions they require to improve their livelihoods.

Toshao of St. Cuthbert’s Mission, Timothy Andrews pointed out that as far as he can remember, it is the first time he is aware of such an intervention ever being made. This, the Toshao said, will add to the ongoing development in the region four community.

“I would like to take this opportunity to say to all of the Ministers that you are an inspiration to our Amerindian brothers and sisters. My encouragement is to keep doing what you are doing, keep the good work going and I can assure you that what you have done in just under two years, has transformed my community in that space of time. I am happy to say that my community has benefitted tremendously under these two years,” he explained.

Toshao of Swan Village, Finton Ragonaught was also complimentary of the move by government. He explained that for the period under the previous administration, little to nothing was done in the community.

Ragonaught noted that the development his community is experiencing was anticipated under a President Ali led government. “I said, that our leader that we are putting in place His Excellency Irfaan Ali, he said that as soon as he took office, he will ensure that we have a school, health center, we are going to get better water service and I would like to say today to the President, I thank you so much for standing to your word,” he said.

The Swan Toshao continued that he was excited “to know what the government is doing for our community because even what they had not promised us, we received. So, Mr. President, I want to thank you on behalf of my village.”

Meanwhile, member of Amerindian Action Movement of Guyana, Peter Persaud also said that “the interventions made so far have been so excellent that we are just waiting for Thursday to come. We must not be worried; we certainly will be successful. Under this government we can be assured of all success.”

It was revealed that Government has been making unprecedented investment in hinterland and riverine communities since taking office. However, in an effort to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, government disbursed $1.73B in one-grants as relief funds to the over 200 indigenous communities. It was noted that the main objective of the grant was to assist the communities in creating income-generating projects to mitigate the hardships faced by the residents.

Further, hinterland and riverine residents also benefitted from the COVID-19 $25,000 one-off cash grant, which was distributed countrywide. Additionally, the special $25,000 grant was recently announced by the President in light of the recent increase in the cost of living. Also, it was revealed that significant investments were made in the areas of agriculture, education and healthcare.

It was disclosed that overall, aside from the $3B recently announced, government has invested over $50B in the hinterland and riverine communities.