MP Shuman – Access to education, healthcare improved for hinterland under PPP/C Gov’t

Access to education and healthcare in the hinterland has increased since the PPP/C government assumed office in August 2020.

Deputy Speaker and opposition Member of Parliament, Lenox Shuman made the disclosure on the final day of the National Budget debates on Friday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).

“I would have seen from my tenure with this administration … it is because of continuous diplomacy and hard work that the indigenous peoples now have better access to education from 2020 to now,” MP Shuman told the National Assembly.

Shuman in responding to criticisms by his opposition colleagues on how many Amerindians are benefitting from the GOAL scholarships, said, “If we’re going to use GOAL as a marker, why don’t we speak of what existed before that; which was absolutely nothing.” Moreover, the Amerindian language programme is now being piloted in two communities and is set to roll out in 18 communities in 2023 under the PPP/C Government.

“That is a massive cry from the zero that ensued pre-2020. That is progress, that is progress,” Shuman emphasised.

On the issue of accessible healthcare services, the Deputy Speaker disclosed that he has been part of discussions with the government to find ways in which services could be delivered to the hinterland and Amerindian communities.

“It has been an ongoing conversation to deliver and find more effective ways to deliver healthcare to indigenous people. It is not a matter of walking in there, we know the geography is tiring, it is very challenging … But this has been a comprehensive and continuous dialogue between myself, Dr Frank Anthony [Health Minister], Dr Vishwa Mahadeo, and many other health professionals in finding ways to effectively deliver health services to the hinterland and that is a continuous dialogue that is yielding results,” Shuman pointed out.

The MP said that if Guyana is set for the massive development, representatives in the National Assembly must embrace change; however, he pointed out that some MPs in the house seem bent on stymieing development.

“It also seems to me that my colleagues seem to want to say to the ministers, how dare you try to make the lives of Guyanese better. How dare you want to say that you’re going to deliver education and healthcare to indigenous peoples? How dare you allocate money to undertake land titling, this is what seems to be coming from this side,” Shuman noted.

The deputy speaker also blasted the APNU+AFC for peddling untruths and its lack of representation in the national assembly.  He reminded too, that it was under the APNU+AFC administration, that the rights of Amerindians were trampled on.