…Shuman says many were cussed, chased by Dharamlall

LEADER and Presidential Candidate of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), Lenox Shuman, said Indigenous People were exploited and abused under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP) Administration.

Shuman, who once served as the Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC) and Toshao of St Cuthbert’s Mission, made the statement during a press conference at Duke Lodge on Thursday. According to him, many Toshaos and Indigenous People suffered at the hands of PPP/C Member of Parliament, Nigel Dharamlall, when he held the post of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.

“Many of the chiefs, many of the Toshaos who visited the Ministry of Amerindian People’s Affairs during the PPP tenure were cursed and chased out, and verbally abused by the then Permanent Secretary, Mr. Nigel Dharamlall,” Shuman told reporters.

The LJP Presidential Candidate said there are numerous allegations of abuse on the part of the PPP when treating with Indigenous People.

“There has been in our view an exploitation of Indigenous Peoples from the PPP. They go about and say that they would have employed close to 2000 Indigenous People with the CSO programme when we know in fact, and this is not speculation, this is a fact, that what they did was to pay these young people – one to vote for them and two, to spy on communities,” Shuman told reporters.

The Community Support Officers (CSOs) Programme was an initiative introduced under the PPP/C. Shuman said under the CSO programme, Indigenous People were paid to spy on villages.

“So they weren’t public servants, they were party spies who were being paid. They were paying people to spy on small communities,” he contended.