MINISTER of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett has joined the plethora of officials to denounce the offensive statement made in the National Assembly by A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU’s) Sydney Allicock, belittling the Rupununi region.

In Allicock’s presentation during the budget debate on Wednesday, he said that the Garden of Eden must have been located in the magnificent Rupununi region, but that the lack of vision, will, skill and prudent management have combined to render it one of the most backward places in the entire Caribbean.
Minister Rodrigues-Birkett, while she presented on the 2013 budget yesterday, used the opportunity to reject this statement.
She pointed out that Allicock stated that a number of communities were being identified for teacher’s quarters, and indicated that of the list submitted, the number one priority, Taushida, was struck out, and Sand Creek was inserted, which, according to him, is “a stronghold of the PPP.”
In her rebuttal, the former Minister of Amerindian Affairs and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C) Region 9 representative emphasised that the entire Rupununi is a stronghold of the PPP.
She highlighted that the fact of the matter is that Taushida had a teacher’s quarters built in 2011, so a request was not made for such a facility in that village. However, a request was made for Sand Creek.
“They asked for Sand Creek to be included. The government just built a brand new secondary school there, they already have teachers quarters there, but we want to make sure that the principal is comfortable and we have included this year quarters for the headteacher,” she explained.
She related that he also spoke of Amerindian land issues, but stressed that there is a need to always be sensitive to the cries of the indigenous people as it relates to land demarcation and extension.
Rodrigues-Birkett mentioned that one of the first communities to receive land extensions is Annai, in Region 9, which was increased to over 300 square miles, and it is now double the size of Barbados.
In addition, she said that several other communities and even more in Region 9 have since been extended. She also indicated that the percentage of land owned in Region 9 moved from to 6.5 to approximately 14 percent.
“If there was a chance for the member to withdraw that, I would ask him to do so; but this is the story of Region 9, the Regional Chairman, the REO, the Vice Chairman are all born Rupununians,” she noted.
The minister proceeded to point out several persons in prominent positions who were all born in the Rupununi.
Meanwhile, she further related that Allicock had spoken about the miniscule number of persons in Region 9 being able to attain higher education. She challenged this statement by referring to a number of students who are currently pursuing studies in Cuba under the scholarship programme.
Rodrigues-Birkett noted that an additional 25 students are studying at the University of Guyana, and in the last five years, 95 teachers from Region 9 have been trained.
She stressed that in the last eight years, Region 9 has led in the number of scholars in all of the hinterland regions who were admitted to scholarship programmes, and that there are currently 77 such students.
The minister concluded by saying: “There is a saying, if you don’t tell the truth, somebody will tell it for you. I just did.”