I wish to draw attention to an article headlined “Amerindians are tired of empty promises”; appearing in the Sunday, January 30, 2011 issue of the Kaieteur News and penned by a Martin Cheong. I am not certain who or what qualifies Mr. Cheong to pontificate on behalf of the Amerindians of this country. Albeit I will say without fear of contradiction that his comments border on intellectual depravity or could only be described as a case of reckless misrepresentation.
Mr. Cheong obviously merely scanned sections of the 2011 Budget Presentation with his prime focus on those areas of the presentation that he felt amply fitted his pursuit of seeming deficiencies and perceptions of shortcomings in the area of the development of indigenous communities.
It is obvious Mr. Cheong did not enquire into developments taking place in Amerindian villages and communities. Consequently, there could be and indeed there was no level-headed rationalisation of the various programmes, policies, projects and development plans of the PPP/C Government by the writer. And indeed, I am reminded of a point made by my Parliamentary colleague, the Reverend Dr. Kwame Gilbert M.P., in his 2011 Budget Presentation when, in describing the comments of the Opposition on the 2011Budget he said:” If all you are looking for are faults; faults are all you will find”. Mr. Martin Cheong adequately fits this connotation.
The writer suggests that government‘s vision and plans for Amerindian development; moreso in the areas of Amerindian Land Demarcation and Amerindian Community Projects revolve around the availability of ‘the Norwegian Funds’. This farcical and illogical deduction is nothing but a non-sequitur that is not borne out by Budgets 2006 to 2011. Indeed, the PPP did commit in its 2006 Manifesto; in its Poverty Reduction Strategy and in its endorsement of the Millennium Development Goals to provide resources and to work tirelessly “to reverse the years of neglect of our first people’ under the PNC government. And for this purpose, we begun even before 1992 to plan initiatives geared towards the development of our Indigenous population.  And that is why our annual Budgets as it relates to Amerindian development focus, inter alia, on Education, Health Care, Roads and Bridges, Transportation, Water, Electricity, Land Titling and Demarcation and the Economy. And that is why also the PPP/C Government perennially puts more and more resources in pursuit of Government’s determined efforts to bridge the developmental gap between the Coastal and Hinterland Communities. We have been delivering on our committments to the Amerindian people in spite of the challenges of remoteness and high cost of delivery of services. Mr. Cheong, please take the time to see below. These commitments were not met from Norway Funds.             
Details of Capital Expenditure on Land Demarcation

The above named 18 Villages were demarcated at a cost of $ 164, 630. 802
and therefore at an average cost of $ 9, 146 155 per village. This cost was financed out of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs’ annual allocation from Government under the Amerindian Development Fund. This is certainly not Norway’s funds. And these are certainly not just numbers; these are facts.
And may I add that all except 12 Amerindian communities that have recently met the requirements for Titling as set out in the 2006 Amerindian Act, have been titled. The costs of the titling process and the titling itself (not a simple and straight forward process as Mr. Cheong has been lead to believe) have been met from funds made available by Government to the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs under the Amerindian Development Fund.
Intensifying Income Generating Projects in Amerindian Communities
The PPP/C Government has been continuously investing significant amounts of resources in income generating Projects in Amerindian Communities as part of its efforts to expand the non-traditional sector; to diversify the Village Economies and to ensure food security in those communities. These interventions include the National Hinterland Secure Livelihood Programme under implementation in 15 Amerindian Communities in Region 1 targeting over 250 farmers directly and providing support for several emerging sub sectors, viz: citrus, passion fruit, honey, livestock, aquaculture..To date, $ 79.3M has been expended on this Project.
Add to this the disbursement of Presidential Grants totaling $ 590 M over the years 2007 to 2010 to over 150 Amerindian Villages / Communities across the ten Regions of Guyana to finance primarily income generating Projects of their choice, including commercial farming, poultry and cattle rearing; acquisition of minibuses, pickups, ATVs, and in two cases, Excavators to do mining; Guest Houses to support Tourism etc.and you would appreciate my dismay that all Mr Cheong could see are: “ a few token projects in our communities” and “a poultry pen and plant nursery at Liliendaal”. These Income generating projects are requested by the Villages; are undertaken by the Village Councils using labour including skilled labour provided by the Village itself and benefit the Villages. Resultantly, much of the earnings remain in the Villages.
Mr Cheong, if you are interested I will provide details.
The writer may wish to know that what is referred to at Liliendaal is our new Hinterland Students’ Dormitory where already our government is providing opportunity for our scholarship students to be engaged not only in the formal education but also in  curricula activities that allow them to satisfy even their own dietary.
The above investments and the Projects resulting therefrom have created economic opportunities and improved the living standards of many of our Amerindian people.  Unfortunately, Mr. Cheong sees only what he wants to see.
Mr. Cheong must know that the PPP/C Government has always facilitated and complemented Community Development in Amerindian Villages and Communities by providing further support in the form of transportation, farm tools, solar panels, sewing machines, radio sets to name but a few. May I point out also that ATVs have been given to a number of Villages over the past 3 years, viz; Tuseneng, Paramakatoi, Monkey Mountain, Kanapang, Kaibarupai; Tractors to Nappi, Whitewater and a number of Villages of Region 8; boats and engines to Villages in Regions 1 and 2 to facilitate movement of people and materials. I guess Mr Cheong feels that our Amerindians should continue to walk and to paddle.
Over 2000 solar panels (65 watt and 15 watt solar home systems) have been handed over to 2 000 households; 250 watt systems with Inverters to provide AC power for some schools in Villages/Communities across Guyana. And as I pen this response I have in my view copies of letters of “Thanks” from many of the Villages that are benefitting from electricity provided by our Government. And I wish to quote from the letter from the Malali Amerindian Village Council:”This is a great development and a dream come through for us e.g. pupils will be able to study at nights and complete tedious assignment”.
Our Government has been fulfilling its commitments to the Guyanese people including our Amerindian people.
It is good that Mr Cheong acknowledges that “our Indigenous people are more informed now and wiser now”; but he deliberately excludes from his failed attempt at an assessment of our Government’s investment in our Amerindians, the Education and Health Care sectors.
Twins delivered at the Mabaruma Hospital
The building of schools and health centres, District Hospitals; the training of our Amerindian brothers and sisters as Nurses, Medexes, Health Workers, Teachers is not “a promise” as surmised by Mr. Cheong. It is a fulfillment of commitments made by the PPP/C Government. You can’t change that Martin.
I wish to disappoint you again Martin. We have been providing training to our Community Development Officers, our Village Toshaos and Councillors on the 2006 Amerindian Act and assisting Villages and Communities to develop Village Rules. The youthful but professionally qualified project staff of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs who have been working in the Villages and wherever the opportunity presents itself e.g. NTC Conferences and NTC Executive meetings to empower our Amerindians do not take too nicely to your reckless comments, Sir.
We do not deny that there is always room for improvement but let us recognise the progress we have made. Even the Honourable Leader of the Opposition and Mr. Raphael Trotman M.P. acknowledged this recently during the 2011Budget Debate. Here’s what they said Martin?
Mr Trotman: “ I could not stand in this National Assembly and deny that there has been no development.”
Is the thought that in another three  years, 10 000 Amerindian homes will benefit from solar electricity and that Laptop Computers will no longer be for a privileged few too much for you to handle.
There are so many initiatives geared towards the development of our Amerindian people flowing from the PPP/C Government’s programmes and yes Martin, from the Low Carbon development Strategy. I undertake to guide you through them. But be forewarned: this is not a charade; it is serious business. Amerindian Development has been for us of the PPP and the PPP/C serious business.