-IDB to support housing development in hinterland

By Ravin Singh

SOME 212 Indigenous communities and villages across Guyana are poised to benefit from $280M in grant funding provided by the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs in the form of Jubilee grants.

Mervyn Williams, Advisor to the Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, told the Guyana Chronicle that the communities and villages identified to benefit would receive funds ranging from $1M to $2M, with which they can identify priority issues and remedy them by developing counter projects.

“What is interesting is the fact that villages are determining what their priorities are, and where they want these financial resources to go. And that is want we want to achieve — an independent process for the villages by the village leaders themselves,” Williams explained.

Of the 212 villages and communities slated to receive funding, Williams noted, 38 have submitted proposals for their projects and have had those proposals approved. These 38 projects account for almost $55M of the total funds.

And while funding is being released for these 38 projects, he was keen to note, it is being released on a phased basis.

“There are phases in these projects and funds will be released according to those phases because the Ministry has to give account for those funds,” Williams said.

Explaining that funds could be released only once the project proposal is accepted, the advisor related that the Ministry is pushing to ensure that the other communities submit their proposals as soon as possible.

To speed up this process, he said, the Project Department staff from the Ministry is being utilized to facilitate preparation of the projects in accordance with the desires of those villages.

“They are going to either get the village leaders here or get into the villages to guide the process, so that there can be a faster process,” he said.

Recognising that all projects cannot be completed by the end of this year, Williams said he is optimistic that all the projects could be approved and funding could be released for them this year.

“Funding is not an issue, but it is the process involved regarding the project proposal. That process has to do with the preparation and submission of the proposals, which speaks to the village’s intention, which must satisfy the requirement for the release of the grant. As long as those come in, we will ensure that the funding is disbursed,” the Ministerial Advisor said.

He explained that even though the Project Department staff will play an oversight role, management of the projects rests entirely in the hands of the village council. He noted that the Project Department would be responsible only for monitoring the projects, and will not be involved in their governance.

“So they will basically be an oversight body ensuring that there is accountability,” he said.

Further, he described these projects as landmark projects, reasoning that they would not be short-lived. Some of the projects already embarked upon by the 38 villages and communities include, but are not limited to, the construction of guest houses; the construction of bridges; renovating, constructing or fencing multipurpose halls; water projects; construction of benabs; and the construction of recreational parks.

Williams pointed out, too, that a village in Region Nine would be working towards installing Internet services with its $1.2M grant, while another village would be executing a project to upgrade its airstrip trail, since it is not in a pleasant state.

And what has been realized after examining the project proposals, the advisor added, is the diversity of the needs of these villages. As such, he noted, these sustainable landmark projects are intended to serve as a reminder of what the Indigenous communities were able to achieve during the year of Golden Jubilee.

Williams explained that previous grants to Indigenous communities ranged from $800,000 to $1.5M; and according to the advisor, they were “arbitrarily administered.”