Growing Amerindian population increases need for expanded infrastructure

The population explosion taking place in Amerindian villages is of some concern to local government authorities.

This population growth phenomenon is especially noticeable in the Pakaraima mountain areas of Region Eight, where at least one village, Paramakatoi, is already facing a serious situation of overcrowding.

While residents rush to occupy adequate land space, water supplies are running low, health care demand is rising, schools and dormitories are cramped, and there is little employment and economic activity to take care of the growing number of people in the village, Regional Chairman Senor Bell worries.

Local administrator of the district for a decade now, Bell indicated that a population census of 1988 reported 900 residents at this mountainous village, whereas, currently, the figure stands at in excess of 2,700.

The village’s school system — nursery, primary and secondary levels combined — has a population of over 800. This has led to several extensions to the school’s building over the years, but the overcrowding continues, since more children are joining the system each year. At present, the community has three dormitories for the students, and Bell foresees the need for more extension work in the near future.

Currently, it costs his administration Gy$68 million a year to operate generating sets at Paramakatoi, since the fuel costs about Gy$110,000 per barrel to procure and transport to the far-flung village.

Since the community is situated atop a mountain, the chairman explained, there is limited land space to accommodate the expansion of infrastructure and residential facilities required by the growing population.

He observed that, for instance, there are many pit latrines in the community, and almost every quarter the regional administration has to find space to erect another facility for the schools and dormitories.

The supply of water is another area of concern, since changes in climatic conditions are complementing the drying up of wells and nearby ravines. The regional chairman recalled that El Nino last year had exacerbated the situation for residents.

” When you  dip a bucket of water, you had to wait one hour for the ravine to fill up again,” a very concerned Bell relayed.

Economic survival under threat.

Above all of these concerns, though, the chairman fears for the livelihood and economic survival of the people. He noted that villages such as Paramakatoi and Kurukubaru, situated in the Pakaraimas, have limited opportunities for employment. There have been reports that a handful of residents have turned to marijuana cultivation and are exporting the illegal commodity to neighbouring Brazil. In that district, there are about six police officers, so it remains difficult to act on the situation.

In the meantime, many residents are employed in the regional public sector, but more are subsistence farmers.

They have so far been producing enough ground provisions and other crops to meet their food needs.

Meat sources are, however, a bit troubling. Previously, the communities relied on meat supplied from the cattle industry in neighbouring Region Nine, but these stocks have dwindled severely in recent years.

“If you go now to buy 20 million dollars in cattle from Region Nine, you can’t get it,” Bell mentioned in making his point.

A few Region Eight communities have since started producing cattle, but on a small scale, since there are not enough savannah lands for the activity. Although there are a few farmers with as many as 20 and 30 head of cattle, the meat is not enough to take care of the population’s food demands.

There have been efforts to engage in aquaculture in some of the villages, but Bell said that due to the changing weather patterns — heavy rains that cause flooding alternating with extended dry periods — this activity proved difficult.

Poultry rearing was also conceived in some of the villages, but the high cost to procure and transport the feedstock has made this activity not economical.

Against this background, the regional official related, expanded farming and pig rearing are the most suitable activities to pursue in most of the areas. He explained that “the spoilt produce” from the farms would provide feedstock for the pigs.

The chairman has already raised the problem of overcrowding with central government officials, noting that a site has been identified at Kato for a hydro, and the Office of the Prime Minister is pursuing this development.

The European Union (EU) has reportedly stated its willingness to support the venture, provided that the Education Ministry establishes a secondary school at Kato. The regional chairman is convinced that a hydro at Kato would drive social and economic development in the area, creating more opportunities for employment and income generation.

Boasting that all of the major villages in Region Eight have schools, health centres, vehicles and other basic amenities, Bell highlighted that the government has been making significant investments in the hinterland areas, to make residents lives’ better.