– PM says Opposition propaganda failing

PRIME Minister Moses Nagamootoo is convinced that changes are taking place in hinterland communities and the indigenous peoples are no longer being “fooled by politicians who peddle propaganda.”

Nagamootoo was prompted to make these comments following claims from opposition party representatives that the government was involved in the “rigging” of the recently held national village council elections.

The elections took place in May-June in 115 Amerindian villages and saw quite a number of toshaos being elected, including 14 women.
To this point, 57 toshaos as well as councillors have openly stated that the elections were conducted “free and fair.”

Writing on the matter in his weekly column, “My Turn”, Nagamootoo told of his visit last Friday to Lethem (Region Nine), to attend the Regional Toshao’s Conference upon the invitation of Region Nine Chairman Brian Allicock.
There, the prime minister said, he was challenged by opposition representatives to respond to accusations of “progressive levels of neglect” in the region.
Coupled with this, the individuals sought to “work up steam” by hurling multiple allegations of elections rigging, gerrymandering of village borders, inadequate funds for Amerindian development, lack of consent and failure of the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS).

“I had not planned to speak at any length at the toshaos’ conference, but, as a politician who had seen many battles, I was forced into a comprehensive rebuttal of the allegations made by the opposition, which was represented by three sitting Members of Parliament,” Nagamootoo said.
The prime minister said while by the time he was finished with his address, the “elite corps of oppositionists unceremoniously walked away”, the village leaders had remained unmoved.

“It just wasn’t true that the new government didn’t allocate funds for Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo. I quoted figures to show that over these years, government has spent over $780 million in presidential grants and on capital works. And as an additional show of goodwill, I handed out another tranche of $20 million in presidential grants to several villages.

“As a striking example of how the region was being transformed, I mentioned the introduction of hinterland radio stations – Lethem and Aishalton and Radio Paiwomak – and as I did, toshaos responded with prolonged applause,” Nagamootoo recounted.

PROGRESSIVE NEGLECT
Other rebuttals to the claim of “progressive levels of neglect” Nagamootoo put forward included the transformation of Lethem into a town; a new magisterial district court and fire station and the provision of free Internet access at several Information and Communications Technology (ICT) hubs at schools and public offices.

Added to these were the construction of a water reservoir on Nappi lands; the Lethem industrial site development; the US$3.1M sustainable hinterland housing project and buses provided for schoolchildren in communities such as Annai and Aishalton.

While in the region, the prime minister visited the village of St. Ignatius to meet with participants as part of the HEYS training programme where five young entrepreneurs were each awarded $100,000 to help sustain their businesses.

“We met an otherwise able young man with one leg, who explained how HEYS helped him to start a butchery and cattle farm, from which he makes a weekly profit of $30,000; and how he hoped to be the single largest supplier of fresh beef in the Rupununi.
“There were women who exhibited their bottled honey and canned peanut butter as a result of support from the programme,” Nagamootoo stated.

After the encounter, he is now convinced that the ship has sailed for the opposition’s involvement in propaganda-peddling.

“It is clear that the message of development is reaching receptive ears in Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo, and the tune of ‘rigging’ is no longer pleasing to the ears. The opposition cannot go against the tide of cooperation across party lines for community development.”

With this, he highlighted a number of future projects the government has in store for the region, such as the drilling of eight wells to store water for drought seasons; the Linden-Lethem road; online passport and birth certificate applications; a research station at Pirara; and the expansion of the Lethem Hospital’s maternity waiting room.