–to be more proactive in the affairs of the country

MINISTER of Amerindian Affairs, Ms. Pauline Sukhai on Saturday recounted what could rightly be called the “plight of the Indigenous People,” brought about by the Combined Opposition’s starving of the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF).The occasion was the celebration of Amerindian Heritage Month with residents of Karrau, which has been designated Amerindian Heritage Village this year; while the subject at reference was the Parliamentary Opposition’s voting down of the $1.1B allocated to the ADF during the 2014 Budgetary Debates in the National Assembly.
Among her concerns, the Minister said, was the Government’s delay in response in providing needed interventions to Amerindian communities when requested, all of which was “due to the disapproval of the Amerindian capital budget [which] they expect the Government on an annual basis to make, and also to respond to their needs.”
But she was quick to say that in spite of these setbacks, the Government “has made a commitment to continue to advance Amerindian development,” and that no amount of challenges “will deter us from continuing with respect to paying much attention to the Indigenous Peoples’ livelihood.”
The ADF fund is divided into two components. The first is administrated by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs with the aim of financing Community Support Officers (CSOs), cultural projects, Presidential Grants, eco-tourism, etc, while the other falls under the purview of the Ministry of Finance, with responsibility for channelling funds under the Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
Another concern of the Minister is the perceived disinterest among Indigenous People in the political affairs of the country, a situation she said the Government fully intends to address.
“Whether you live in Region One, Seven, Eight, or Nine,” she said, “the politics of this nation affects the entire country, and all are absorbed when things are not working in the best interest of the people.”
As for the objective of the annual Amerindian Heritage celebrations, Sukhai said it “continues to provide a number of benefits to Amerindians with respect to keeping our culture and our heritage alive.”
She further charged that the presence of the large crowd at the celebrations represented a drive “to mend and heal some of the issues which Indigenous People have held as [a] people” that were looked upon as unequal.
Sukhai called for the nine Amerindian nations to recognise their role in the wider image of a developing Guyana, and to therefore allow their indigenous pride to be reflected in whatever they do. “We must be proud Amerindians, and we must be proud Guyanese; we should not sit back as a silent nation, but position ourselves for the future of this country, and for the future of the Amerindian way of life,” she said.
The Amerindian Affairs Minister concluded her noteworthy speech with a call to action: “Together, we should unite as one, so that we will be able to bring to bear our contribution to this beautiful country called Guyana. It is in unity that we will be able to progressively continue to develop as a nation.”