-during one-day visit to Great Falls and 58 Miles
THE PPP/C government has always fostered more active participation of Amerindian residents in ventures to further develop their communities and promote their natural resources; and recently Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, visited two of these communities in Region 10 to reinforce government’s commitment to their development. The minister, along with several officers from her ministry, including Principal Regional Development Officer, Anil Roberts; Community Development Officer, Glenorran Edmonds; and Project Officer, Besham Ramsaywack met with residents of Great Falls and 58 Miles, Mabura, at which time she pointed to the initiatives inherent in the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which is Guyana’s current National Strategy.
She informed  residents that within that strategy there are some key areas that are important for Amerindian people to be privy to, and to start responding to, so that they can benefit from it.
“There are some areas in the Low Carbon Development Strategy which speaks to alternative, clean, renewable energy, and expansion of agriculture,which involves improving our social infrastructure. Then there are the forestry and mining sectors,” she stated.
She told the residents that in the LCDS the government has assured that forest activities as well as mining will also continue.
“These are two troubled areas where people were concerned that under this strategy these two sectors will fold. There is no intention of folding up these sectors, but there will be more sustainable, managed utilisation of their resources so that we do not destroy them or create a negative spin-off to affect our people,” Minister Sukhai assured the two communities.

Agriculture
Agriculture has always been the foundation of many and most Amerindian communities, and under the LCDS, Amerindians will be allowed to continue  farming in the traditional way.
The minister further assured that there will be no restrictions to communities in the way that they carry out their farming activities.
“In areas where you don’t have to clear forest, we will wish to encourage you to utilise those areas and even get into commercial farming if you wish. That would depend on community plans and on the initiative of the communities.”
The Ministries of Agriculture and Amerindian Affairs, in collaboration with small Amerindian villages, have been successful in developing commercial agriculture initiatives that are proving successful.
“Moco Moco is one; they have just completed 86 acres of rice in the savannah and they are also venturing to increase their bean production and to plant close to 100 acres of peas. This is a small community with not much more than 300 people, and this is what we expect the Amerindian involvement in agriculture to rise to in the future, but it has to be the commitment and the need by the people to move to that level and government is willing to partner with you in this.”

Tourism
The residents were informed of the critical nature of tourism to Guyana’s development, which is important to the LCDS, with Amerindian communities having to their advantage, unspoiled, rustic beauty and customs and traditions that will sustain and attract tourists.
“They have the flora, they have the fauna, they have the rivers that they traverse, and they can use this and package this and use this as tourism product. But the community must want to embark on this course of action where we see Amerindian villages beginning to step up and be involved and participate not only in utilizing their resources but also earning from these ventures,” the minister stated.
These things, she suggested, have to be packaged and should not be allowed to go to waste.

She urged the communities that they have to develop their tourism product fully with more young people involved.
Last year, the ministry, along with the Office of the Prime Minister, distributed more than 1,000 solar units to Amerindian communities under the Unserved Area Electrification Programme. This year several other communities will benefit under this programme.

Community Development Plan
“Out of this whole LCDS there is another focus relating to Amerindians and that is the community development plan. The council and residents must know that the Amerindian Act mandates village councils and the community to develop annual community plans. Many communities have not been doing this,” Minister Sukhai said.
However, she added that over the last two years some communities have begun to respond to the legislative requirement and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs has been supporting it.
She expressed disappointment that the two communities have not yet submitted their plans.    “We need to sit as a community and work at our plans. If you don’t have your plans in, and the GRIFF money will soon be disbursed, it means that you will not share in the $5M that will go to communities this year,” the minister advised.
The ministry has made numerous interventions within communities for these plans to be completed and submitted.

Minister Sukhai advised the gathering that the government will be looking at 100 plans for communities this year. 
“So the project must be a transformative one. One that is not only going to be built for today and then next year it flops … it must be able to create an impact to benefit the community, it must be something big enough that can be expanded and carried on for a long time,” she stressed.

Presidential Grants
Minister Sukhai commended the initiative taken by the Great Falls community to purchase a minibus with the presidential grant to the community, and cautioned against abuse of the vehicle.
“The need for investment and the need to build capacity in the Amerindian communities to manage projects is what the presidential grants are all about. And it is laying the foundation for the bigger tranche of  $5M, so your success with the presidential $1M, and the $1.5M in some bigger communities, is giving you that period to build capacity to manage projects, so when bigger things come, you already have a system,” Minister Sukhai explained.
The minister also spoke with residents and advised on issues that are plaguing some of them  and the community at large, promising interventions wherever feasible.
Some of the concerns raised by residents include the survival of the Amerindian tongue, the issuance of solar panels, land demarcation, forestry issues and tourism.
Great Falls is a titled and demarcated Amerindian village in Region 10, with an estimated population of 210 persons, and approximately 36 households. There is a primary school, village office, teachers’ quarters and a health centre staffed with a mid-wife and two community health workers.  The affairs of the villages are governed by Toshoa Harold Couchman and six councillors.