– campaign to be intensified against businesses that take advantage of their indigenous workers

Annai

MINISTER of Amerindian Affairs, Mrs. Pauline Sukhai has announced that her ministry will be intensifying its campaign against businesses that take advantage of their indigenous workers.

She made the announcement last Tuesday, at the ceremony to herald the start of Amerindian Heritage Month 2009, in the Amerindian Village at the National Exhibition Centre, Sophia, Georgetown.

The celebratory activities are themed ‘Securing Our Livelihood while Sustaining Our Cultural Diversity’.

Speaking about some of the growing challenges, Sukhai alluded to the malpractice of employers in various sectors.

“This is a matter of concern to our ministry and, while not specifying named businesses, most prevalent are those operating in the forestry, mining and night spot sectors that take advantage of Amerindian workers,” she said.

“I wish to signal that the Ministry will intensify the campaign in addressing these issues and we will also work harder to collaborate with our other sister ministries in ensuring that such practices are minimized.”

She said some businesses in the entertainment sector lure young under-age Amerindian girls and the conditions of work turn out to be different to those that are agreed and promised when recruited.

“To attack and address this problem, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs has incorporated, into its awareness programme in the high risk areas, a range of social issues on which we feel we need to alert, advise and support our communities when they confront them,” Sukhai informed.

She said her ministry has acknowledged that one of the tasks which needs attention is providing support for improving governance at the village council level.

“This is necessary for improving a more solid governance structure, managerial and accountability for administrative success,” Sukhai admitted.

She said the Ministry and the National Toshaos Council (NTC) have both recognised this shortcoming and are expected to identify sources of support for investing in enhancing the leadership and governance abilities of the indigenous population.

SIGNALS

Andira

Sukhai said very clear signals were discussed also at the NTC Executive Meeting and it is believed and accepted that the body is the formal and legal representative to speak on behalf of Amerindians.

She said human resource development is an ongoing issue nationally and it is important to promote the need for Amerindians to utilise all opportunities existing for training.

The Minister emphasised that the Government of Guyana has contributed more and more, annually, towards training opportunities for young Amerindians.

?nd I call for the Village Council to make this a permanent agenda item so that they can continue to stimulate the families to positively pay attention to education and training of our young people,” she exhorted.

Sukhai reminded of the significant contributions of Amerindians to the nation and recalled that, last year, in the quest of supporting the village economies, President Bharrat Jagdeo, true to his commitment, approved $79M as an investment for the start-up of the National Secure Livelihood Programme.

She said the Government has also provided specialised technical support and aims to provide the opportunity for the development of young people with on-the-job training to bolster sustainability when the experts’ contracts end.

The projects undertaken under this programme fit into the low carbon development path being proposed in the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS),” Sukhai pointed out.

She said it is expected that ginger, honey, craft, peanut, passion fruit, crab oil seed, cassava and many more Amerindian produce will have value-added and open a way for moving both current producers and young and interested entrepreneurs to grow and benefit from an enhanced business support and livelihood options.

Sukhai said, under this scheme, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs will await, with much interest and anticipation, studies and experiments with turmeric and spices which are seen as having high end potential.

“Therefore, the intention is to take up, His Excellency the President’s encouraging call to begin to focus on products that will offer high end income and which are in demand,” she asserted.

PREPARED

Morakobai

Sukhai said the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs will expect those outside of government, who express concerns and interest in advancing opportunities for Amerindian development, will be prepared to offer concrete support for advancing this and many more programmes that will support potentially sound economic ventures and activities in the villages.

There is a high potential for participating more meaningfully in the tourism sector by the Amerindians,” she said, encouraging persons living in the coastal, rural and urban areas to visit one or more of the villages and experience the richness of the hinterland and its communities supporting domestic tourism.

In that regard, Sukhai congratulated the villages of Surama and Wariwau, which have received prestigious awards for their attractive eco-tourism packages.

?s we seek to secure food security for our people and move away from the level of subsistence production, we consider this a medium and long term focus which we have to take on board seriously,” she said.

She said her ministry and the NTC have recognised this challenge and agriculture will remain one of the stronger activities which needs more support in various areas such as technical training, soil testing, quality seed and plant materials availability and pest control.

I will provide the thinking of the Amerindians on this matter of the LCDS. There is positive acceptance for this national strategy,” Sukhai affirmed.

She also offered thanks for all the support received in making the occasion a success.

The programme for the month includes cultural nights and food extravaganza at the Amerindian Village until September 6; an evening of reflection on the life and work of Mr. Stephen Campbell on September 10 at the same venue; Amerindian Heritage Village Celebrations on September 11 at Orealla, along Corentyne River and the Amerindian Heritage Pageant on September 26 at the National Cultural Centre.