…NTC chair urges

…hails efforts to bridging information gap

By Svetlana Marshall
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“My advice to my Indigenous brothers and sisters be wise, open your eyes, see what has been happening over the last few years, there was no intimidation, no interference, especially with our NTC elections. This is an opportunity for us to really maintain the open-door policy that we are seeing, and less intimidation,” Fredericks said.
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INDIGENOUS people in Guyana are more informed now, than ever, on the developments and challenges that face the country due to their increasing access to Information and Technology, Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC), Nicholas Fredericks, said in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle.
On the margins of an Indigenous Women Leaders’ Conference at the Grand Coastal Hotel on Monday, Fredericks said his Indigenous brothers and sisters are indeed benefitting from the projects and programmes being implemented by the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) to bridge the information, communication and digital gap that exists between the Hinterland and Coastland.
“People are having more internal discussion [on issues and developments]. Due to the radio [and] the Internet, people are more empowered because they have access to information,” Fredericks told this newspaper.

Since taking office in May, 2015, the David Granger Administration has invested millions of dollars in to the establishment of radio stations and Information Communication Technology (ICT) hubs to increase access to information in far-flung communities.

Just last week, Radio Essequibo 95.5 FM was commissioned by President David Granger. Constructed at a cost of $12M, the radio station will benefit more than 46,000 persons along the Essequibo Coast. Notably, communities like Adventure, Akawini Mission, Bethany, Machabo and Kabakaburi can now tune into Radio Essequibo 95.5FM.

In total, seven community stations were constructed and operationalised under the Granger Administration. The other six community radio stations are Radio Lethem in Region Nine (May 2016), Radio Maburama in Region One (June 2016), Radio Mahdia in Region Eight (October 2017), Radio Bartica in Region Seven (November 2017, Radio Orealla in Region Six (March 2018), and Radio Aishalton, also in Region Nine (January 2019).
Meanwhile, in keeping with President Granger’s pledge to bridge the digital divide, the Ministry of Public Telecommunications, through the National Data Management Authority (NDMA), has been establishing ICT hubs throughout the country. There are approximately 170 ICT hubs spread across the country, providing free Internet access to thousands of citizens.

Fredericks said due to the increased access to information, Indigenous People now have greater understanding of the developments taking place, and the challenges that exist. He said in the past, the limited flow of information resulted in Indigenous People often being misinformed about issues.

Emphasising that knowledge is power, the NTC Chairman said come Monday March 2, 2020, Indigenous People will be more “assertive” when the go to the polls. “The people are more empowered [and] the youths, especially, are ready to make the right choice,” he told this newspaper.

MAKE A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
As the General and Regional Elections draw near, Fredericks is appealing to his Indigenous brothers and sisters to make a comparative analysis on the developments that took place within the various periods of the country’s history.

“My advice to my Indigenous brothers and sisters be wise, open your eyes, see what has been happening over the last few years, there was no intimidation, no interference, especially with our NTC elections. This is an opportunity for us to really maintain the open-door policy that we are seeing, and less intimidation,” Fredericks said.

Late last year, Fredericks called on politicians to stop driving a wedge between the Indigenous Peoples, warning that in the end, the people suffer. “I mean, nothing is wrong with political affiliation, but don’t cause division. I have seen it over and over again: in the region, you have the REO and the regional chairman not working together; that doesn’t benefit anyone, the whole region suffers because of political indifferences [sic] and that shouldn’t be,” Fredericks had said.

On Monday, he said sadly the situation remains the same. He noted that political interference at the regional and local levels has caused much division in the hinterland, which in the end results in development being stymied. Fredericks, who hails from Region Nine, said it was political interference that led to an agricultural project in the Rupununi being terminated, though funding had been secured from a multilateral financing agency as he laid the blame at the feet of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

Fredericks said that project would have led to the establishment of an institution similar to that of the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA). “Instead of coming to GSA, you would have done it right there; you could now have access to soil testing, and so many things they were going to do, but because of political interference, we were not able to benefit from that programme,” he had explained.

On Monday, he said instead of pitting against each other, political parties should focus on policies that would drive change and development. He said there is need for more social programmes for young people within the hinterland. Importantly, he said major attention should be placed on manufacturing and processing within the field of agriculture.