WHENEVER general elections draw near, opposition political parties target the Amerindian community, attempting to convince them that the government is neglecting them. This community is perceived as shifting the ‘balance of power’ to a third force in the local political arena.
So, regardless of the well-documented and highly visible reality that the government has sustained an unprecedented dynamism in the provision of services and social enhancement interventions in Amerindian communities, some opposition politicians and their allies in the media continually attempt to mislead them into believing that the opposite is true.
They try to obfuscate the facts and present false pictures of caring for their welfare, when in essence their manipulations and strategising can only lead to a derailment and/or an inhibitor of the government’s hinterland development drive.
In the current situation, the Amerindian People’s Association (APA), along with protagonists and other opposition elements are using arguments and strategies to stymie the momentum of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which will benefit Amerindians in a very tangible way, because it can impel development in Amerindian communities at a highly-accelerated rate.
Some are supporters of an opposition party which they hope will be the catalyst that will lead to the removal of the PPP/C Government at the next general elections.
This is the agenda behind their prognostications, strategizing, and ostensible caring of Guyana’s Indigenous peoples.
After much effort, the Government of Norway recognized the solid case Guyana has to benefit financially from its rainforests through the LCDS, and, much to the credit of that country, it has acted upon that recognition.
The Alliance For Change (AFC) and others were in a frenzy to deny the first people and other communities the benefits that would accrue from the Norwegian deal by coming out against the agreement.
Why would they want to deny the Guyanese people badly-needed funds to mitigate the effects of climate change on the local agricultural sector and hinterland communities, in particular, and the Guyanese nation on the whole?
On the other hand President Bharrat Jagdeo, who would be demitting office within months and returning to private life, gifted to the Amerindian community the US$40,000 presented to him when he won the United Nations 2010 Champion of the Earth award. This contribution to Guyana’s first peoples on the part of Guyana’s Head of State has gone largely ignored by the opposition media, while the anti-government/anti-people frenzy escalates daily.
The United Nations has unequivocally supported Guyana’s Amerindian Act on the basis that Guyana has the second best Indigenous Act in the world, so why are some so intent on misinforming the Indigenous people that they are being discriminated against?
The government has addressed the issue of Amerindian land rights when no one else cared.
And while the developmental imperatives of this nation would be greatly accelerated if the LCDS generates income for this country, the Amerindian people’s welfare would always be given priority, because their contribution to the national development paradigm is now being given due recognition and respect.