APNU justifies cutting for Amerindian Development Fund

Apr 12, 2014 News

By Kiana Wilburg
The 2014 budget ignores the environmental damage to four hinterland regions- Barima/Waini, Cuyuni/Mazaruni, Potaro/Siparuni and the Upper Takatu/Upper Essequibo. That is the contention of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
It is calling on the government to take measures that will quickly support

Leader of the APNU David Granger and Shadow Minister of Local Government, Ronald Bulkan

the improvement of the hinterland region.
APNU leader, Brig. David Granger prompted members of the media fraternity to question whether this truly is his position. If that is the case then why was the $1.1B provision for the Amerindian Development Fund not approved on Thursday in the National Assembly?
However, APNU’s Shadow Minister of Local Government, Ronald Bulkan, said that it was voted down because APNU was reliably informed that, that the money was being used to pollute and politicize the Amerindian communities.
Granger noted that after careful examination of the 2014 budget, he concluded that it has the potential to dangerously divide the country into two nations–one poor and one rich.
He continued, “These regions occupy over 70 percent of our national territory. They possess the country’s major logging, mining and tourism resources. They have been exploited for over a century and a half and continue to enrich the national treasury but remain underdeveloped themselves.
“Some mined-out parts have degenerated into mosquito-infested wasteland… Exploiting the economic resources, sustaining the livelihood of the residents and protecting the environment demand a new budgetary approach to the hinterland administration.”
He called on the administration of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to quickly upgrade the centres of the hinterland Regions to township status with their own Mayors and Town Councils, in order to improve the quality of municipal government.
He added that the hinterland residents have demanded permanent institutions not ad hoc programmes.
“They want regional technical and agricultural development banks and regional athletics, swimming and sports centres. The 2014 budget has failed to present a comprehensive financial plan for the development of their material resources and for the improvement of the quality of life for the residents of the hinterland. This failure will deepen the differences between the poorer western Essequibo and the more developed parts of the country.”
Elaborating on the root cause of this failure was Bulkan. In his presentation, he said that this lies in the failure to honour the Constitution.
Granger said, “We have received advice that the more than $1B fund was being improperly used by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs for political purposes rather than for educational or developmental purposes.
“The funds that have been used to establish the Youth Apprenticeship and Entrepreneurial Programme (YAEP) are controlled directly by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs… and everybody in that programme receives a stipend of $30,000 a month. Some don’t do any work…It has caused conflict between some of these Community Support Officers and the Toshaos who have no say in it.
“We do not feel it is a justifiable use of the money and we voted against it because we feel it must be accountable.”
The APNU Leader said that instead of “sharing out the money”, the government should invest in the establishment of a technical institute that the people have been asking for.
“We did not vote against the indigenous people, we voted in order to make sure that the YAEP is put on a proper footing and brought under the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs. In fact, the Ministry lacks the resources to run an educational programme.”
Granger stressed that even the indigenous leaders in his coalition were against the “gift giving” habit of the government to the area which only promotes a dependency syndrome and not independence.