–authorities to approach National Assembly for $3B in supplementary financing for projects in areas of health, agriculture, education

THE government is set to approach the National Assembly at the upcoming sitting next Thursday, for the approval of $3 billion in supplementary financing to make further investments in Amerindian and hinterland development, according to President Dr. Irfaan Ali.

Financing, according to the President, will go towards investments in projects related to agriculture, health and education.

In just under two years, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government has already expended close to $10 billion on developmental projects targeting various Amerindian communities.

But President Ali said a decision was taken to seek supplementary funds after village leaders compiled a list of needs for their various communities.

Addressing toshaos during the ongoing National Toshaos’ Conference on Thursday, President Ali said that a portion of the fund would be dedicated to the establishment of hinterland-centered health and education programmes that would allow residents to be trained in health and education.

He noted that this will not only allow for the advancement of human resources, but will also play a pivotal role in bringing back jobs to the community.

“We are going to take every single eligible candidate from hinterland communities who can be trained to become health workers, nurses, teachers, teaching assistants, and teaching aids… we’re going to take those persons and develop a comprehensive programme to provide training for all of them so that they can have the required skills to serve their communities,” President Ali said.

Further, the Head of State said that of the $3 billion allocation, some $250 million will be set aside for the development and implementation of youth projects.

He said that while systems must be implemented to benefit the entire community, youths have to be at the forefront of those initiatives.

President Ali reminded persons that the affairs of Guyana’s Indigenous peoples have been high on the agenda of successive People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) governments, noting that the government remains steadfast in its belief that all Guyanese regardless of their geographical location must benefit from developmental initiatives.

Meanwhile, Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, echoed the sentiments of President Ali and noted that the government remains committed to the development and advancement of hinterland communities and Amerindian people, and has been investing significantly in improving the lives of the citizens in all hinterland communities.

In highlighting his point, the Vice-President made reference to expenditures on several initiatives that were launched by the government to bring relief to the Amerindian people. On this note, he said some $4.2 billion was invested in the first half of this year.

The government has already invested directly into the lives of the Amerindian people through $25,000 per household cash-grant initiative for riverine and hinterland communities, which was set up to cushion the rising cost of living.

The Vice-President stated that this initiative, which was launched in May 2022, came as the President recognised that the cost of living impact is disproportionately harsher in riverine hinterland communities than on the coastland.

This measure is expected to put an additional $800 million in disposable income back into the hands of ordinary Guyanese and will add to the other plethora of welfare measures that the government has implemented over the past three years as the world faced back-to-back global hardships, which have skyrocketed inflation across developed and developing nations.

Another initiative that was launched by the government to give back to Amerindians is the $49.7 million Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s “Empowerment Fund.” This massive project was set up to support persons from hinterland regions who are either already in business or are considering the feasibility of investing in any commercial activity.

The Empowerment Fund is a collaborative effort between the ministry and the World Food Programme (WFP), which seeks to help persons expand or start a business with $50,000. To date, some 995 persons from various communities have benefitted from this initiative.

Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) had the largest number of beneficiaries, with some 367 persons across two phases.