– according to former NTC Chair Yvonne Pearson

FORMER Chair of the National Toshaos Council (NTC), Ms Yvonne Pearson, has vehemently criticised claims that youths from the Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprentice Project (YEAP) who were involved in Thursday’s protest outside Public Buildings had been promised payment by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.

“The best way I can describe this is to say it is drowning cats clutching at straws,” she said.
Involved in organising the protest action, Pearson told the Guyana Chronicle that the claims made by Lorraine Martin as reported by the Stabroek News are a complete fabrication. She said: “The claims are completely false.”
The former NTC Chair added that the demonstration of Amerindian youths seen on Thursday outside Public Buildings was the first of its kind, and is an action that seems to have “shocked” many persons.
Pearson said: “The claim is a blatant fabrication (that is) meant to discredit a genuine protest action by young Guyanese. (It is) a fabrication that did our young people a disservice.
“These were young people who understood the issue at hand and the consequences it would have on development in their communities. They have a democratic right to protest, and that is what they did.”
According to her, Members of Parliament need to “understand” the reality of the circumstances with which persons in hinterland villages are faced.
Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, filed a motion with Parliament on Tuesday to cut $300M in supplementary funding earmarked for delivery of projects and programmes in Amerindian communities.
Pearson has bemoaned using the funding of projects and programmes in Amerindian communities as a tool to score political points, when the needs of the people are clear.
Members of the National Assembly voted in consideration of Ramjattan’s motion, and it was not carried in the Committee of Supply. The former NTC Chair expressed her satisfaction with the way MPs voted.
“Anyone looking at the issue and understanding the circumstances of Amerindian people in the hinterland would realise how much difference the funding would make,” she said.
Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Ms Pauline Sukhai, told the House that the $500M supplementary funding comes on the heels of the just concluded National Toshaos Council meetings, which sought to provide a forum for Amerindian village leaders to plan developmental projects for their respective communities. The funding covers transportation costs for school children using both the roadways and waterways, and costs to develop roads and access paths to promote trade and agriculture, among other priority areas.