The opposition has done a wrong against Amerindians

Apr 20, 2014 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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The non-approval to the Amerindian Development Fund is unpardonable. The opposition parties have committed a grave injustice against the indigenous peoples of this country by their actions in not giving their approval to the Fund and, in the process, have contradicted the concerns fawned about the underdevelopment of areas west of the Essequibo River.
The excuses provided by both APNU and the AFC cannot stand serious scrutiny. They insult the intelligence of the Amerindians and the Guyanese people as a whole.
The AFC is saying that it has reservations about the Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme.  These reservations, however, were not grave enough to have led to the bludgeoning of the Fund.
I am sure that the AFC has far more serious reservations about funds for the health sector. It has been in the forefront of criticizing the procurement policies for drugs for that sector. Yet it approved of the funding for the health sector.
It is therefore hard to reconcile the concerns that the AFC made about the Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Project (YEAP). The AFC ought to be reminded that this project was conceived and was being implemented in tandem with a reputable international organization which has had considerable experience in undertaking such works. To not approve funding for the YEAP, and also for the Community Development Projects, constitutes an assault against development for Amerindians.
APNU on the other hand contradicts the very positions that it has taken in relation to the development of the hinterland. While contending that there is a divide in development between the hinterland and the coastland and that hinterland development needs to be addressed, it opted to do the very opposite by not approving the Amerindian Development Fund.
APNU is contending that the funds could be used for vote-buying purposes. But it seems to have ignored the participation of international organizations in these projects.
These initiatives are not election year initiatives. They were announced well in advance, when the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) was unveiled. A major component of that strategy allows for Amerindian communities to benefit from the funds procured under the LCDS, which would be used to improve the development of Guyana’s indigenous communities. This is how the Community Development Projects and the YEAP were conceived. These plans were in the making ever since the LCDS came into being, and have nothing to do with the holding of local government elections this year.
By contending that these projects will be used as collateral to buy votes is a callous insult to the intelligence of our indigenous peoples. And the PNCR, which is the dominant party in APNU, ought to be ashamed of embracing such an argument. By contending that the funds are going to be used for political purposes, APNU is also forgetting that it was the indigenous vote, secured by Peter D’ Aguiar in the 1966 elections that allowed the then PNC to attain office.
But APNU ought to know better than to make such facetious arguments. APNU did a detailed analysis of the results of the 2011 General Elections, and it ought to know that the many projects which the PPPC had launched did not yield the expected results. In particular, the mass distribution of house lots did not bring votes to the PPP.
The Stabroek News did an analysis of the results of the polling stations in the new Diamond Housing Scheme and instead of the government gaining a landslide, the votes were actually split almost 50-50 between the ruling party and the opposition parties. This clearly shows that the Guyanese people are not gullible and their votes cannot be bought.
It was therefore painfully insulting for APNU to be suggesting that the PPP was trying to buy votes in this year’s Budget. But is it not the same APNU which is contending that the PPP is scared of holding local government elections.  So who is now running scared?
If the opposition has opted to cut projects that they feel are part of a plan to buy votes, what does this imply about their readiness to face the polls should local government elections or any other elections for that matter be held this year?
The combined opposition has done a terrible wrong against the Amerindian people of this country by not approving the Amerindian Development Fund. They should reverse themselves and ask the government to return with a supplementary provision to allow the passage of the sums allocated, because without these resources the Amerindian peoples will not benefit from the funds available under the Guyana-REDD Investment Fund, which the very opposition had demanded as part of efforts to ensure greater transparency for funds acquired from Norway.

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