I REFER TO the letters of Clairmont Lye, “There should be an investigation of the distribution of Rupununi flood relief funds”, published in the Stabroek News of Saturday, November 12, and “Recent distribution of flood relief funds in Lethem should be investigated,” appearing in the Kaieteur News on the same day.
The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs would like to posit the following:

1. Authenticity of names:  The ministry issued monies to persons on the list which it had received from the Region. But, like in any exercise of this nature, omissions may occur. Thus, the ministry subsequently received an additional list of persons, prior to departing for Georgetown. That list includes residents from Tabatinga and Culvert City. The ministry is currently reviewing that list.

2. Intention to release: If the writer can recall, in a previous release, the Ministry stated that the distribution of the cash relief on November 6 was scheduled to commence at St. Ignatius for Central Rupununi, and the distribution for Lethem residents was planned for November 7.  It is obvious that the ministry brought in the money for this purpose, and was ready to release the money at St Ignatius, had everything gone as scheduled. However, many of the Lethem residents present at the rally requested that they be given their cash relief after the event. Thus, only the Lethem residents were given their relief there. Officers from the Amerindian Affairs Ministry then travelled to St. Ignatius, Quarrie, Moco Moco, Napi and Parishara to distribute the cash relief.

3. Inaccuracy of report: If there were names of non-Lethem residents called at Lethem on the day of the distribution, such was an inadvertence.
The fact that Lethem residents were able to express their objections to the names of persons called, as stated by the writer, is explicit proof that Lethem residents indeed requested the release of their flood relief money.

4. One must appreciate that the Guyana Government’s cash relief exercise, done through the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, lasted from September 23-29 at Karasabai; October 3-7 at North Rupununi, and from October 14-21 at South Rupununi (sub-districts).

We hope that this clarifies some of the issues raised by Mr. Lye.  We appreciate his effort in bringing all the aforementioned issues to our attention. However, it must be noted and understood that the cash relief is meant for households who were severely affected by the flood.