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ACTO Secretary General, Ambassador Robby Ramlakhan, along with Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, who, in their opening remarks, both delivered the charge for the day-long session, used the opportunity to lament the grouping’s dependency on foreign aid.
Trumpeting the sovereignty of its member states as among paramount ideals, Ambassador Ramlakhan told the gathering that 90 per cent of ACTO’s funding comes from Germany and Holland, a position Rodrigues-Birkett called “unsustainable.”
“We all realize that we cannot continue this financial dependency,” Ambassador Ramlakahn said, even as he conceded, “our governments don’t swim in money…we can’t really look to governments to increase contribution.”
He suggested that the grouping may soon turn to large scale companies in the region, such as those in Brazil and Venezuela.
Ambassador Ramlakhan said it is ACTO’s embedded principles of sovereignty that sees French Guyana being excluded from the grouping, given that it is governed by a European power.
In explaining the reasons for the consultation with the various groups of Guyanese civil society, Ramlakhan spoke to the fact that ACTO is currently in a process of fine-tuning its objectives and agenda, but would require the input of the populace from its member countries.
The event, held at the GICC yesterday, also saw participation from students of the University of Guyana and from the sixth and fifth forms of a number of high schools.
Ambassador Ramlakhan told the gathering that initiatives ACTO seek to push are all geared towards “improving the conditions of the peoples living in the Amazon.” He said the grouping has recently included social inclusion and combating poverty in its broader agenda focus, primarily on the environment, natural resources, its sustainable development and that of the peoples of the Amazon.
Ambassador Ramlakhan said, “We want to know from you what are your views, ideas for sustainable development of the Amazon region…. We can sit and talk in air conditioned rooms, but we don’t always know the challenges. You can inform us, so we can develop plans, ideas and projects to improve the well-being of all (the Amazonian peoples).”
The ACTO Secretary General said that each plan adopted by the grouping has to be agreed upon by each of the member states at the highest level.
“We have to have one voice, one task,” emphasized Ambassador Ramlakhan.
The culmination of the meetings across the member states will occur with a consolidation confab, to be held in Bolivia, “where we will bring together all of the ideas from the various seminars”, he said.
In a frank opening session with the local stakeholders, Ambassador Ramlakhan conceded that “poor visibility has been a weak point in our policy.” He suggested that, outside of the government circles and those that would provide financial aid for the grouping of member states, very little is known about ACTO among its populace.
“Poor visibility is a critical aspect we are trying to work on,” Ambassador Ramlakhan said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Rodrigues-Birkett, in expanding on the importance of ACTO, said that even while Guyana is one of the more active member states in the grouping, it will look towards raising greater awareness.
“We do quite a lot, but very quietly; and maybe we should do more,” Minister Rodrigues-Birkett said.
Speaking to the financial predicament of ACTO, she lauded the proposal by Ambassador Ramlakhan to approach large companies within the grouping, a proposal she said Guyana will study.
“I would urge the seminar to — while we discuss the work of ACTO — think outside of the box on the way forward on the financial state of the union”, she said. She said this is not unique to ACTO, and pointed to the CARICOM experiences, saying it has the same problem, given that “a large part of its financing comes from outside of the region, (and) clearly that is not sustainable.”
Minister Rodrigues-Birkett noted that at the time ACTO was signed into international law in 1978, there were not as many groupings as is the case currently. She pointed to bodies such as MERCUSUR and UNASUR, and said that in light of the prevailing number of groupings, ACTO must be careful to ensure that there isn’t an overlapping of agendas.
“It’s important for ACTO to keep its niche,” cautioned Rodrigues-Birkett, saying that “sometimes if you try to do everything, then some things got to give.”
