-allocations range from $10M to $30M

THE National Assembly on Thursday approved the sum of $4,743,000,000 as part of supplementary advances made from the Contingency Fund which went towards community development and empowerment of over 200 Amerindian villages.

At Thursday’s sitting, the National Assembly was resolved into the Committee of Supply to consider Financial Paper No. 1 of 2023, where it was revealed that this sum directly benefitting indigenous communities across the country.

The entirety of the sum approved by the Cabinet as an advance from the Contingency Fund went to the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.

When members on the opposition side of the house questioned the expense, Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai said that since entering office, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has embarked on developing and expanding the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which saw continuous consultations being done.

To this end, she said that it is nothing new that funds are being allocated to this section of the population, which according to her has been receiving support from the government.

She noted that government has “talked the talk and walked the walk.”

Sukhai told the committee that this type of money transfer directly to indigenous villages has never happened before and as such, she would not expect to hear objections to additional financial resources for the investment and improvement of the lives of indigenous people.

Opposition member, Volda Lawrence then asked Sukhai what explanation was given for the advance to be made from the Contingency Fund.

In response, the Amerindian Affairs Minister noted that the government made and took a strong decision to bridge the gaps between the hinterland and coastland and to accelerate development within those communities.
Meanwhile, Sukhai went on to list all 242 villages that benefitted from direct transfers as she indicated that the size of the village populations determined the size of the allocation they received.

Communities received amounts ranging from $10 million to $30 million.

These funds, she said, were transferred to a special bank account in the name of the villages which are spread across the country’s 10 administrative regions.

As such, the advance totalling $4,743,000,000 was approved by the committee and later the National Assembly.