Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai encouraged residents of two Region Ten communities to be guided in their affairs by the Amerindian Act, which empowers Amerindians socially, economically and politically.
Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai
Minister Sukhai told the residents that when the PPP/C government took office, there were 74 titled Amerindian villages; and in less than 15 years, 96 villages were demarcated. According to her, regardless of the geographic location of communities and settlement patterns, government is committed to their development. Sukhai and a team visited Malali and Muritaro, two riverine communities of Region Ten, on Sunday, August 28.
“I am very pleased to be here today (Sunday). It’s my first meeting with residents since I came into office as minister of Amerindian affairs,” Minister Sukhai told residents of Malali. She reiterated government’s commitment to substantially improve the financial independence of the communities in the upper Demerara River.
Amerindian communities across the country are becoming financially independent, as government continues to implement policies and programmes that are transforming their village economies and sustaining their traditional ways of life and surroundings, she said.
Muritaro and Malali continue to benefit from government initiatives, like other hinterland communities, including the annual presidential grants, school feeding and uniform programmes, hinterland secure livelihood programme, community development plans, electrification programme, scholarship and hinterland road programmes, land demarcation, midwives’ training, and the hinterland teachers’ upgrading programme, she disclosed.
While encouraging residents and village councillors to decide on priority projects for the presidential grants for 2010 and 2011, Minister Sukhai said that the grants are to be used for income-generating activities. She opined that while some communities are gradually developing themselves using the grants, others are yet to make progress. Today, there are 159 communities receiving presidential grants.
During the NTC meeting in July, President Jagdeo had announced that 27 more villages would be added to the list of recipients of presidential grants, and that the grants would increase from Gy$320M to Gy$500M. Sukhai also noted that, over the last 19 years, many schools, dormitories and other educational facilities have been built across Guyana, including in the hinterland regions, to ensure each child is provided with quality education.
“Schools and health facilities in hinterland regions are no longer being manned by coastlanders, but by trained teachers, Medex and community health workers.
The minister also said that hinterland students benefiting from scholarships to study in Georgetown are now being accommodated at the recently-commissioned dormitory at Liliendaal, ECD. “Hinterland students attending secondary schools in Georgetown have significantly increased (in numbers) over the past few years, as more and more students are being offered scholarships,” she informed residents.
