AMERINDIANS from indigenous communities across Guyana turned out in the hundreds yesterday, braving the rain outside Public Buildings to protest the combined Opposition’s devastating $1.1B cut to the 2014 budgetary allocations to advance their development.

Amerindian Affairs Minister, Pauline Sukhai, stood in solidarity with the protestors and told the media that the protest demonstration is a clear indication of the objections and anger at the cuts.[box type=”shadow” align=”alignright” width=”300px” ]Summary of APNU, AFC cuts to Amerindian Budget:
• $796M provision for YEAP
• $12M for construction of village offices and multi-purpose buildings
• $5.6M for the purchase of sport gear, musical instruments
• $30M for implementation of drip irrigation systems and purchase of tractors
• $1.5M for eco-tourism programme
• $200M for 2014 Presidential Grants
• $5M for Secure Livelihood programme
• $4M for language revival programme[/box]
According to her, the disapproved allocations will affect not only young Amerindians, who contribute to the development of their communities, but also impact significantly on the socio-economic development of Guyana’s first people on a whole.
Last Thursday, the combined Opposition in the National Assembly, comprising the APNU and AFC, voted down $1.1B for the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF), $6M for rehabilitation of buildings, $13.5M for the purchase of boats and engines, $20M for the purchase of vehicles and motorcycles and $3M for the purchase of furniture and equipment – the entire capital budget of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs. Also

disapproved was the $185M designated for hinterland airstrips under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
Minister Sukhai noted that the allocation for the ADF covered a $796M provision for the continuation of the Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme (YEAP) and lamented the opportunities for Amerindian youths that will be lost with the vote down of this sum.
The YEAP programme, which was introduced in 2013 and launched in Regions 1, 7, 8 and 9, addresses youth development and empowerment, and also speaks to the focus of ensuring secure indigenous livelihood by developing the capacity and capability of the youth, to match and support the

development of enterprise initiatives needed or being embarked upon within their communities and region.
The minister stressed that the APNU and AFC have denied the Amerindian people their right with their vindictive actions, which she dubbed a betrayal of their interests.
Sukhai added that the Opposition parties have contradicted their promises and backtracked on the promises they made, on the campaign trail leading up to the 2011 national polls, when they pledged representation for the Amerindian people.
“The continued development of the Amerindian people has gone out the window,” she declared.

WAR CRY
The protestors shouted chilling indigenous ‘war cries’ as they chanted protest slogans, among which were: ‘We demand what is ours’, ‘Stop cutting our budget’, ‘We want development’, ‘Opposition is a waste, we need development’.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Nigel Dharamlall, was also part of yesterday’s demonstration and said the “calculated cuts”

stymie development and set back the progress that has been made by the current Administration.
He noted that the budgetary allocation hone in, importantly, on employment opportunities and capacity building of young Amerindians and the advancement of communities.
“The Amerindian people are here to protest for what is right,” Dharamlall said.
Current vice Chair of the National Toshaos’ Council (NTC), Joel Fredricks, stated that for too long the development of Guyana’s first people has been neglected and the inroads that have been made in the last several years must not be interrupted.

He added that the community leaders have a “good idea” of what their people need and the budgetary allocations respond to these.
Fredricks said, “We know how to manage and we need the resources to make sure the development continues.”
He added that more important than the current impacts of developmental investment are the futures of Amerindian children that will be affected.
“We must be able to get what we deserve,” the NTC vice Chair said.
Former chair of the NTC Yvonne Pearson, told the Guyana Chronicle that the Amerindian people are out in protest to send a clear message to the combined Opposition.
“We are disappointed. We are angry. We are here to demand that our rights must be respected. Our right to development must not be denied,” she said vehemently.

AMERINDIAN MPs ROASTED
Pearson added that the six Amerindian Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Opposition side who “claim” to be representing the Amerindian people’s interest have betrayed their people with their politicking.
“We want these MPs to know that we are disappointed and we will continue to protest. We will continue to make our voices heard and we will stand and fight for what is our,” she stressed.
The sentiments of the protestors were not dissimilar as they roasted the Amerindian MPs sitting in the Opposition benches.
Among their chants were: ‘Norton (APNU’s Dr. George Norton) is a waste’, ‘Hastings (APNU’s Dawn Hastings) is a Judas’, ‘Marcello (AFC’s June Eula Marcello) is a sellout’ and ‘Garrido-Lowe (AFC’s Valerie Garrido-Lowe) is a shame to Amerindians’. The same sentiments were repeated for all six of the Amerindian MPs.
The political parties were also slammed by the hundreds gathered yesterday and the recurring sentiment expressed was that the Amerindian people made a mistake in supporting the APNU and the AFC.
The demonstrators were clear in stressing that their development should be a right that is protected as they refuse to “go backwards”.

GOING TO THE UN
Head of The Amerindian Action Movement of Guyana (TAAMOG), Peter Persaud, told this newspaper that the Opposition’s disapproval is a serious matter that will be taken to the United Nations (UN).
“We are saddened and angry at this because the bottom line is that real people are being affected,” he stressed.
Last year, the Government of Guyana told the United Nations (UN) Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) that their approach, through relevant sectoral ministries, focuses on executing and applying a policy of balance and fairness, while ensuring and safeguarding the collective rights of Amerindians to land in the issuance of concessions to extractive industries, and has always been consistent in not granting property rights for mining, forest or other interest in Amerindian village tilted lands.
The current Administration, in keeping with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), stressed its support for Guyana’s indigenous people, despite the political challenges.
Additionally, several Government MPs were on site yesterday to lend support to the protestors, including Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy; Education Minister, Priya Manickchand; and Head of the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association (RPA), Dharamkumar Seeraj. Also braving the rains was former Local Government Minister, Harripersaud Nokta.
The general consensus from the Amerindian people was that they will continue to make representation for what is their right, the right to be able to benefit from development programmes.

(By Vanessa Narine)