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Rats and rot and ruin: Mohamed visit exposes scandal at Amerindian Hostel
– Minister promises new facility for next year
(Kaieteur News) – The deplorable conditions at the Amerindian Hostel on Princess Street were thrust into the national spotlight Sunday morning when leader of the main opposition, Azruddin Mohamed and several Members of Parliament responded to desperate calls from residents begging for help.
It was high drama at the hostel when the We Invest in Nationhood leader showed up to listen to complaints from residents of the deteriorating conditions of the facility, that they say is plagued by rats and other infestations and that they are poorly housed and fed.
WIN Leader, Azruddin Mohamed (backing camera) engages Amerindian Affairs Minister, Sarah Browne.
One of the broken, filthy toilets at the hostel.
In a statement WIN said when Mohamed visited to provide representation, he was denied entry. The party said credible information reaching them is that the Amerindian Hostel is unkempt and in a deplorable condition. “One report is that there is a paralysed bedridden man, an amputee, and another with a stroke, all in an untidy room.” The party added: “while the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs continues to paint the exterior of the building, the condition beneath is appalling. Behind a few coats of paint is an untidy, rundown dwelling for our Indigenous brothers and sisters in the city.”
According to WIN after Mohamed and the MPs were ordered to leave the premises by the warden, acting on instructions from the PPP, Minister of Amerindian Affairs Sarah Browne, who had been completely absent until then, suddenly appeared over one hour later.
“She arrived to meet nearly 100 distressed Indigenous dwellers and, instead of listening to their cries, attempted to make excuses for the PPP’s ongoing neglect and failure to address their most basic needs.”
Scene outside of the Amerindian Hostel on princess Street, Georgetown.
The sleeping area of residents lacks ventilation.
According to WIN, in a live recording, Mr. Mohamed asked the minister whether her husband, who has previously received multimillion-dollar contracts from the PPP, would be receiving the contract to “upgrade” the hostel. “The minister responded strangely, saying: “If he has to get the work, I don’t see why he can’t get benefit.”
“This response is alarming given the corruption of the PPP and misuse of public resources.
Mr. Mohamed pressed the minister repeatedly with one simple question. When will these urgent needs be addressed? she refused to answer,” the Win statement detailed. Mohamed, according to the statement assured the Indigenous people at the hostel that he will do everything in his power to ensure they are treated with dignity, respect, and humanity, and he will not allow the PPP to continue treating them this way.
The condition of the tiled floor.
However, Browne said nowhere on the live did she say she will give her husband the contract to build the hostel. “What I said is “I’m not the tender board and my husband is a Guyanese and like every Guyanese he should be able to work. I also said does it mean because of me he can’t be able to get work anywhere in this country. I have always said this during the campaign when persons ask me about my husband because I have nothing to hide. Also, to make it clear I have visited the hostel on several occasions and me and my staff working together to create a space at the Amerindian hostel where children can go to play or read books, colour etc. and this is not the only time I visited. Not everything must be publicised. Again, with the lies and distortion. If they were there to bring awareness to issue at hand how on earth did it come to my husband. Stop playing politics with our people.”
Among the concerns WIN said it has received are: the hostel is extremely hot; there is a need for fans and air conditioning; persons leave sicker after getting there, as the beds are not good and are too close to each other; the mattresses are thin, and people have reported getting scabies after a night there; the washrooms are out of order, and persons have to fetch buckets of water to flush toilets; there are no cleaning supplies in the toilet and that the food served at the hostel is usually subpar. Additionally, WIN said residents at the hostel complained that there is hardly any meat and they are often served sausages and sardines and are allowed only two slices of bread. “The water pressure is unstable and the hostel is infested with rats,” are the other complaints. WIN has called on the Minister of Amerindian Affairs to address the complaints immediately.
WIN Leader, Azruddin Mohamed and General Secretary of the Party, Odessa Primus speaking with an official at the hostel.
An Amerindian woman shares her concerns about the condition of the hostel.
The condition of the bathroom area.
In an interview following the stand-off Browne accused Mohamed of trying to deflect attention from his current extradition case. She acknowledged that the hotel has outgrown its capacity and that money has been requested in the 2026 budget for the construction of a new facility.
She said that the land has already been identified and hopefully the funds will be approved for the project. She noted that for this year more than 12,175 people stayed at the hostel- some of them being stranded patients who had come to Georgetown seeking medical attention. Browne said the government has recognised that the difficulties at the hostel and President Irfaan Ali has committed to building a new Amerindian Hostel, and this promise is already being fulfilled. The minister said despite the constraints the hostel continues to provide three full meals daily, a safe place to rest, welfare services, and even air and land transportation back to hinterland regions.
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THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
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Sir. Ronald Sanders
The GHK Lall Column
Weekend Cartoon
How could this Government of Ali, Jagdeo allow our indigenous people to live
at this decrepit facility, they call ” AMERINDIAN HOSTEL “. They don’t know
what a HOSTEL really should look like…and the current dump does not
qualify. Shame for treating our FIRST people this way. They are poor by
standards but, need better treatment.