ONE of the stated, primary goals of the administration is the provision of equal opportunities for a good life for all Guyanese, regardless of where a citizen may live. The APNU+AFC government inherited a situation in which many opportunities were available to coastal residents, while hinterland-based Guyanese were neglected, abandoned, and impoverished, with few prospects for self-development. It follows then, for equality and equity to be achieved, that the gap between coastal developmental prospects and those of the hinterland must be closed. Government policies, currently being pursued, indicate that the administration is making good on that promise to close that gap, and allow all Guyanese equal access to opportunities for improvement and advancement towards a good life.

Last Monday, Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe, stated in the Chamber of the National Assembly that indigenous peoples, who form the majority of hinterland residents, are equitably represented in Budget 2019.

Minister Garrido-Lowe underscored that almost $60 million has been allocated to hinterland development. That money, she said, is not a handout, instead, it is an investment in green, innovative, and sustainable income-generating projects.
The minister said, “Since this government took office, the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs has been focusing on building the capacity of our indigenous and hinterland people. Your government does not believe in handouts. We believe in empowering people and giving them the economic support required so they can create successful and meaningful lives for themselves.”

The minister said that the projects – set within the framework of a green developmental trajectory – are intended to create jobs, promote self-sufficiency, foster sustainable development, and stimulate economic advancement. Those projects will be undertaken in several villages, including Paruima in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni region, Santa Cruz and Tobago Hill in the Barima-Waini region, and Maruwanau and Bina Hill in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region. The initiatives all reflect government’s commitment to raising the standard of living in Guyana’s hinterland regions, thereby closing the gap between the quality of life of coastal residents and that of hinterland-based Guyanese.

The minister said too that in addition to those projects, Barima-Waini will benefit from a $16 million investment in a cassava flour processing factory at Kwebana; Smith Creek will be further developed by the instillation of a $6 million solar farm at its crab processing facility, and Santa Rosa will get a brand new ground-coffee processing plant, at a cost of $15 million.

Potaro-Siparuni’s lapidary project will be supported with the injection of $3 million.

Empowering young people has always been a cornerstone of this administration’s philosophy. And young Guyanese in the hinterland are being given the attention they deserve. Under the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) programme, 3,795 youths from 222 villages have benefited from one-year training courses in 2017 and 2018. Those young persons have used their newly acquired skills to establish 2,054 small businesses in villages as far as Karasabai, Tipiru, and Achwib in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region, as well as in Monkey Mountain and Red Creek in Potaro-Siparuni.

As part of government’s programmes to make education accessible to hinterland students, two rest shelters will be built at a cost of $4 million to allow students who travel the great distance from Chenapau and Karisparu to their school in Paramakatoi, to rest. This temporary measure will ease the burden of long-distance travel until a permanent solution is implemented.

As government continues to work on closing the gap, work is evidently being done within President Granger’s 10 Point Plan of Action for Hinterland

Development. Those ten points are the:
1. Hinterland Education Support Programme
2. Hinterland Poverty Reduction Programme
3. Hinterland Infrastructure Extension Programme
4. Hinterland Energy Development Programme
5. Hinterland Employment and Youth Service
6. Hinterland Happy Household Programme
7. Hinterland and Indigenous Peoples Land Commission
8. Hinterland Language, Cultural, and Sports Commission
9. Hinterland Tourism and Development Service, and the
10. Hinterland Public Services Provision Scheme

President Granger had said that he is “president of all the people of Guyana,” as such, all Guyanese may expect to have equal opportunities as this is a constitutional right. Hinterland residents, therefore, may look forward to the day when government declares that the gap between standards on the coast and those of the hinterland is closed.