Lethem resident Alistair Charlie has debunked David Granger’s statements about lack of development in the region and has said that the Opposition leader’s denouement of his community is blatant ‘eye pass’ to Region 9 residents. Charlie is adamant that he wants progress and development to continue under the PPP/C administration.According to media reports, Charlie, who hails from Lethem in Region 9, has refuted the misleading statements made by Leader of the APNU/AFC alliance, Mr David Granger, that “it is a pity that Guyana’s largest region happens to be the poorest”. Charlie, in a statement to the Chronicle, said: “I, like other sober-minded Rupununians, humbly refute Mr. Granger’s statement which is a blatant eye pass to residents of Region 9.
“I have read with disgust of an article published online by the Kaieteur News on its webpage dated 2015-03-14 under the caption ‘APNU+AFC crafts plan to improve living conditions in Region 9’. The newspaper quoted: “The historian said, too, that it is a pity that Guyana’s largest region happens to be the poorest.”
Charlie contended that Region 9, being Guyana’s largest geographical region, is absolutely on the rise and the people of the region have been enjoying a better standard of living today than they did under the PNC regime.
He went on to elucidate about the multiplicity of Government’s timely efforts, through the implementation of sound policies and prudential regional management, which have resulted in significant progress and development of Region 9 in the areas of Education, Health Care, Housing, Roads, Bridges, Communication, Potable Water Supply, Agricultural Development, Power Generation through the Hinterland Electrification Programme and upgrading of the transportation network through the Hinterland Road Programme under the Ministry of Public Works, thus allowing villages of Region 9 to be closely connected and integrated; and also included the construction of the Takutu Bridge, which is linking Guyana and Brazil. This, he iterated, is a sound driving force behind Lethem’s booming commercial sector.
Granger’s posturing and pretensions are not fooling the hinterland residents and one can recall, post the vindictive 2012 budget cuts by the joint opposition, Mr. Ashton Simon, MBA, had lashed out at the cruel and crazy budgetary cuts by the joint Opposition and in a statement on behalf of the National Amerindian Development Forum (NADF) he posited that it was “… unbelievably stunning that in today’s politics the ‘cut down to get on top’ strategy still implies. The National Amerindian Development Foundation is of the view that such a strategy will send Guyana’s hard earned gains down the pipeline.”
The NADF representative posited that one must be honest to realize and acknowledge the sterling progress made since 1992. He stated “NADF says that one does not have to count on fingers to outline these gains as they are very visible in all sectors of our environment and society.”
NADF noted “… with surprise and grief” the joint Opposition’s proposed budget cuts to most of the LCDS and GRIF-funded projects in the National Assembly. This, stressed the organization, was a complete turnaround for Guyana’s development as it will impact on all sectors of our society. In a release signed by Simon, the organization stated that “The Opposition must realize that such a proposal is high risk and will have negative consequences in the long term. ‘
It continued “Proposing cuts to the LCDS and GRIF is sidelining Amerindians from development programmes. It means that funding for the Amerindian Development Fund will not materialize. It specifies that our homes will remain in darkness and our children will never be able to pursue academic and other programmes of their choice. It means that demarcation of our titled areas will cease or slow down. It also means that these proposed cuts will seriously affect the small Guyanese entrepreneurs who strive to better their lives through micro and small businesses. Our children will grow up ignorant of the digital world thus creating a gap between those who can afford and those who cannot. The APNU and the AFC falsely enticed the Amerindians and other Guyanese into voting for them under the pretext that life will be better under their watch. This indicator certainly is not pointing to a
According to the release, “Our LCDS is recognized as a national initiative, and must be promoted as such. Seeking to sow discord and creating divisions within our structured national effort will be pursuing goals of destruction. If the Opposition is aware that Guyana’s LCDS has been lauded by global leaders as a model for the world to follow, LCDS would not even come to their lips. But, they have and a strategy will have to be developed to answer such challenges; the partnership with the Kingdom of Norway is at high risk and Guyana must be on ‘RED ALERT’ as the benefits of accruing over US250 million in the next five years for our forest services in the fight against climate change is about to be compromised.
“The Chairman of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said Guyana’s LCDS is one of the most progressive strategies of its kind in the world. Global NGOs, Presidents and Prime Ministers have commended it, while some as far as from Africa, sought our input for helping them to develop their strategies.  More importantly, the people of Guyana support the LCDS, especially the Amerindian sector.”
Simon was adamant that the proposal to cut the budget would damage our (Amerindians) Socio-economic thrust, and will “… negatively impact on our population and damage our efforts to make life better for all.” The release continued to berate the anti-developmental antics of the joint opposition: “NADF is urging the Opposition to be more responsible in their thoughts and concepts. NADF is also seeking to inform them that sitting on the ‘Opposition benches’ does not mean saying ‘NO’ to every issue presented for their perusal, for saying so is being immature and only reflects the hungry politicians they are: hungry for power, which must had at all cost, even at the cost of absolute destruction.”
At the conclusion of itemizing a long list of the PPP/C Government’s achievements in its Hinterland developmental thrust, Charlie unequivocally related “I can go on and on to mention the numerous achievements, progress and developments that have taken place in Region 9 under the PPP/C administration, which is in stark contrast when compared to the PNC regime.
Let progress and development continue in Region 9. One day the blind shall see and be a witness.
The joint Opposition’s electioneering gimmickry is not getting traction in the Amerindian communities, because Guyana’s Indigenous communities have finally achieved equal status in the national social dynamics under a PPP/C Administration.