Latest update September 4th, 2026 10:24 AM
$75 million slated for 15 Region One communities
The government has started a new project, plugging in an initial $75 million, to improve the fortunes of hinterland Amerindian communities, some of which are said to be stagnated and steeped in poverty.
President Bharrat Jagdeo, speaking on Monday at the opening of the bi-annual meeting of the National Toshaos Council, said that while over the years the government has sought to expand the provision of social services in these communities, such as health and education, the single-biggest challenge remains transforming the communities into village economies.
Speaking of the need to change the life of the Amerindians for the better, Jagdeo said that the challenges involve ensuring that the communities are able to produce enough food for their own use, and also to find an economic activity to generate employment. He spoke of the fact that young Amerindians often migrate to the coastland, or in the case of those from Region Nine, across the border to Brazil, in search of employment.
As a result, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs has started testing what is called the National Secure Livelihood Programme, Minster Pauline Sukhai announced at the meeting. She said the intention is to build entrepreneurship in the communities and facilitate community investment.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs Mr Nigel Dharamall, speaking after the opening of the meeting, said initially 15 communities of the Mabaruma sub-district in Region One (Barima/Waini) will benefit from the programme.
He said the programme is being implemented with the help of volunteers from Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). According to Dharamlall, seven projects will be executed in the next two years.
Mabaruma was chosen as the location to execute the project because of the sub-district’s reputation of being the organic region of the country.
According to Dharamlall, the government intends to spend $202 million on the first phase of the project.
The President noted that the reason Amerindian communities have not “done well” in developing village economies is because of the fact that they are mainly agricultural, and because of lack or difficulty with transportation, they cannot access markets for their produce.
He said that the National Secure Livelihood Programme is intended as a pilot to determine what economic activities could work best in specific communities to drive development and employment.
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