By Lisa Hamilton

REPRESENTING the Government and Region Nine, Member of Parliament (MP), Alister Charlie, told the National Assembly, on Monday, that Amerindians in Guyana have been neglected by the APNU+AFC over the last five years and therefore made it their duty to put the coalition in the Opposition benches of the House.

He expressed these sentiments on day one of Budget 2020 debates, hosted at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), due to the existing COVID-19 limitations.

Dressed in his indigenous head-wear, in observance of Indigenous Heritage Month, MP Charlie recapped what he said were challenging years under the coalition government. He said that many promises were made but not many were fulfilled.

“The people of Region Nine were promised an aerodrome at Lethem Airstrip, I ask the honourable members over there, where is the project? Mr. Speaker, it’s misleading when opposition members try to paint a picture that everything was bright and beautiful under their tenure in the Amerindian community, yet, at the level of the village it was a different reality,” he said.

On the other hand, the MP underscored that Budget 2020 prioritises Amerindian development and caters for numerous socio-economic initiatives for implementation in all hinterland communities. Through the budget, he said that hinterland development will be brought in conjunction with coastal development, without sacrificing traditional norms and customs.

He also noted the PPP/C’s plan to make hinterland communities self-sufficient and highlighted the planned expansion of the Hinterland Electrification Programme through which some 25,000 households in Amerindian, hinterland, and deep riverain communities, can expect an upgrade and replacement of their solar panels.

Meanwhile, Charlie said that Amerindian communities will once again be provided with the necessary infrastructure for quality education and each child in hinterland schools will once again benefit from the PPP/C’s ‘Because We Care’ initiative which will ensure that Guyana’s children attend school.

The MP also reminded that the budget caters to the hinterland scholarship programme which will help to further studies at the secondary and tertiary levels; transportation assistance in the form of tractors, boats and engines; more roads and infrastructure to create linkages among hinterland communities; and improved healthcare.

“Prior to Election 2020, it was evident that the coalition party, using state funds, were traversing across the hinterland distributing handouts and trying to bribe residents using State resources in their bid for the Amerindian and hinterland residents to give them another chance at the just-concluded elections,” he said, adding:

“Despite their best efforts, they could not fool Guyana’s First Peoples a second time. We collectively voted for peace, progress and prosperity of the PPP/C, under the wise and caring leadership of our President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, our Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo and our Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips.”

He stated that no one can say that the PPP/C’s budget is not people-oriented and the party looks forward to fulfilling all of its promises to the hinterland regions.