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Minister Anthony led a team to communities of Sawariwau, Katoonarib, Shiriri, Quiko, St Ignatius and Parishara, between July 19 and 21, as part of a Government outreach to the communities. Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Ganga Persaud, Minister within that Ministry Norman Whittaker and the Permanent Secretary Collin Croal, visited different sections of the region, addressing residents’ concerns.
“I honestly believe that over the years of the PPP/C, that every community in this country would have been touched by development…the condition under which the villagers lived were quite different from what it is now, and that is testimony to the development and how far we would have come,” Minister Anthony told residents.
He admitted that while it is true that no community at present has everything, development however, has come a long way..
He pointed out that in every village there are Government buildings and basic services in every shape and form. “It is testimony to the Government’s commitment to development,” he said.
He said that even as government strives to put more projects in place in the Amerindian communities and across the country, it faces the challenge of the Opposition in Parliament, that is putting up road-blocks to stymie development, with the objective of making Government look bad to the people.
Outlining the Opposition’s behaviour in Parliament, from the budget cuts to their latest obstructions, Minister Anthony declared, “The Opposition, when it believes that there is a project that perhaps would make the PPP look good, it votes down the project and prevents development. ”
The minister noted that these were the same people who would have come at some point to the communities and told residents, ‘we have your interest at heart.’
He questioned if indeed this is the case, how it is that they go to Parliament and vote against the interest of the same people.
He noted specifically how the Opposition’s actions have been affecting the Amerindians, highlighting the instance of the Presidential Grants. “Three years ago was the last time we got the Presidential Grants and why? It is not that we do not put it into the budget. It is there every year, but what happens? They cut it out.”
He pointed out that such actions only hurt the people, not the PPP/C. “Not because you want to play politics, you are going to play politics with everybody’s lives in this country. It cannot be like that. There must be responsible political behaviour; because if you are not responsible, then you are going to undermine all the development that we would have had in this country,” he said.
Minister Anthony noted this was the case under the PNC, when during that period things were difficult as that administration had mismanaged the affairs of the country. He said persons tend to forget this, in light of the steady, confident growth and development of the country over the past 20 years under the PPP/C.
He said the country needs to be aware of the danger of the Opposition’s behaviour as it affects Guyana’s potential to compete with the rest of the world. “Every step of the way that they get, they are trying to block development and this cannot be right because we are not living in a vacuum. We are not living in an isolated community. We are living in a world and countries have to compete with each other and if we cannot get priories right, we cannot get ourselves focused on certain things that can be good for the entire country, then we would not be able to compete with the rest of the world.
During the meetings, Minister Anthony also told the communities of the ministry’s plan to develop and promote the Amerindian dialects by creating a competition, whereby competitors will be asked to enter a songs composed strictly in Amerindian dialects.
He explained that this initiative will help to keep the languages alive. “There is a place for it but we have to create the environment to keep it alive.” (GINA)
