THE APNU+AFC administration is to be commended for achieving so many developmental goals during only four years in office. Of particular note, are the achievements made which benefit Guyana’s indigenous peoples. After all, Guyana’s first peoples had been neglected for far too long by the previous People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) heartless regime. The enactment of positive policies by the David Granger government is a refreshing, heartening and welcome change. Guyana’s indigenous peoples may now, under the APNU+AFC administration, enjoy a better life, even as Heritage Month comes to an end and government continues to work towards the goal of equal opportunities for all Guyanese.
President Granger’s 10-Point Plan of Action for Hinterland Development, where the vast majority of indigenous people live, has certainly resulted in major dividends. The plan, which was unveiled in August 2015, has been an unqualified and unprecedented success. As a direct result of government’s visionary programmes and initiatives, Guyana’s first peoples may now enjoy much better lives.
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has eloquently articulated a few of the achievements. The prime minister wrote, “The celebration of Indigenous Heritage Month should give us an opportunity to reflect not only on the big progress unfolding in the many small hinterland communities, but on the role of our indigenous peoples in preserving and protecting our land and our collective life.
“Over many years I have heard cynics warning against government “giving away” lands to indigenous communities. But for me it is not about giving away. It is about “giving back” communal lands to our First Peoples. If we could learn anything from the Amazonian rainforest fires in nearby Brazil, we should see the “giving back” process as an investment of confidence in our indigenous peoples who have occupied our rainforests for centuries, and who have so far saved them from indiscriminate destruction. They have been the guardians of our rainforests, our rivers, our fish stock, birds and animals, and endangered species that mirror our pristine, beautiful, rich and unique Guyanese life,” The prime minister continued.
That view, expressed by the prime minister, is a radical departure from the horrible situation that existed under the callous, cold-hearted PPP regime. Under the PPP, indigenous peoples were viewed as “bush people;” undeserving of attention; they were considered to be second-class people by the PPP.
One example of the PPP’s unconcern for indigenous peoples is the current political climate that the PPP created. The fact is that the APNU+AFC administration wants to update the Amerindian Act. This is so because government wants indigenous Guyanese to have access to better services, faster passage of land titles, more jobs, and a better standard of life. Sadly, presently, the coalition government cannot update the act because, the PPP, in its greed for power, moved a no-confidence motion last December, thereby halting government’s work to update the Act. That work by government had been progressing until the PPP stopped it.
Nonetheless, much progress had already been made. Prime Minister Nagamootoo said, for example, “No one can today deny the positive changes in the life and condition of hinterland (indigenous) communities. Our indigenous peoples are no longer totally cut off from each other, or from the coast, though we are separated by vast expanses of savannahs, forests, mountains and swamps. During the past four years, the APNU+AFC government has tried to bridge the divide. It has, between 2015 and 2018, invested some $48 Billion on expanding, maintaining and constructing roads and bridges in the hinterland. An additional $38.5 Billion was approved to continue this process in 2019.”
The prime minister mentioned the creation of the towns of Bartica, Mabaruma, Mahdia and Lethem. He noted the improvements to the electricity supply system at locations such as Matthews Ridge, Port Kaituma, St Cuthbert’s Mission, Siparuta, Orealla, Moraikobai, Moco-Moco, Wauna, and the Culvert City Housing Scheme. He said that, “At Mabaruma, in the Barima-Waini (Region One), a $272M solar farm was built. A similar energy facility costing $200M will be erected at Annai, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine), together with a $450.2M hydropower plant at the Cheung Falls, Kato, Potaro-Siparuni (Region Eight) to supply electricity to the residential Kato Secondary School.
He noted that some 57 airstrips have been upgraded or constructed. He alluded to the new, paved roads at Mahdia, Port Kaituma and Mabaruma, among other impressive developments too numerous to list in this space.
Obviously, the lives of countless indigenous Guyanese have been positively affected by the policies and programmes of this administration. Evidently, no citizen would want to go back to the dark days; we all want to move forward under the leadership of an honest president, David Granger, and a trusted coalition government. All Guyanese should take action to ensure that progress towards a good life continues.
