Vice-President Jagdeo affirms; says Amerindian communities being boosted by carbon-credit funds, other crucial investments

VICE-PRESIDENT, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has reaffirmed his government’s commitment to improving the lives of all Guyanese throughout the length and breadth of Guyana.
Dr. Jagdeo reiterated the government’s commitment during the second day of the National Toshaos Council (NTC) conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, on Tuesday.
Addressing the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), he said about 10 years ago, his party, which was in office at that time, recognised that there was a way to achieve development without breathing pollution into the environment during the process.

With over 300 meetings within villages and district committees, according to Dr. Jagdeo, the first LCDS was formulated in order to achieve their objectives.
And despite the success of the strategy, the funds earned that were supposed to be directed towards the development of Indigenous communities were not utilised for this purpose by the previous APNU+AFC administration from 2015-2020.

He went on to call out the previous administration for its attempt to replace the LCDS with the Green State Development Strategy “introduced” by former President, David Granger.
“Once he [Granger] flew into Mabaruma to plant two trees, and I said, don’t we have enough trees in Mabaruma in that area? They just make a flight to one hour into the hinterland to plant tall trees there,” the Vice-President said, adding that the flight alone negated the objective, owing to the carbon emissions from the plane.
Since being re-elected to office in 2020, the PPP/C has not only reintroduced the LCDs, but it has enhanced it to incorporate current realities and new projections.
He said that in keeping with his party’s promise, much work has been done to not only ensure progress in the villages, but to also ensure climate change is being tackled head on, along with the protection of biodiversity.

Additionally, the Vice-President said: “…Simultaneously we started working to get our credits certified because we have had a good track record of keeping our forests intact,” and as a result, Guyana received its international certification after nearly two years of hard work by the PPP/C administration.

While calling out certain non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are trying to take credit for the government’s work, Dr. Jagdeo firmly remarked: “It’s a Government of Guyana initiative in collaboration with your communities. Every community will benefit from it
…We will continue to fight to make sure that these funds and even more funds come to the villages… that even more and it will be significantly more because this could go up if we manage to get all of our forest carbon sold at the same rate at which we did; you could have upwards of 400 million USD or G$80 billion coming to the 242 villages alone.”

PROGRESS
Additionally, Dr. Jagdeo also said that the path to development in Guyana is clear and straight; however, there are “man-made” obstacles that are trying to hinder progress.
Speaking on the enhancement of the Indigenous communities from days of neglect to those of prosperity, he said: “We have had, historically, to overcome a lot of these obstacles in our quest for the development of the Amerindian communities from a historical position of neglect.”
Reflecting on hurdles that the Amerindian communities endured, especially during the 2020 General and Regional Elections period, Dr. Jagdeo commended the citizens for upholding their democratic rights and being bold in the fight to freedom.

Also, while stating that previously a majority of the resources were being utilised mostly on the coastal communities, he said that this practice has been re-examined and now all areas are benefitting.

RAPID DEVELOPMENT
Although Guyana’s constitution entails the protection of all Guyanese, Dr. Jagdeo said Amerindians did not enjoy this benefit in the past, but this is being addressed by the PPP/C.
In the journey to ensure that the First Peoples get the respect and rights they deserve, the Vice-President made reference to the established National Toshaos Council (NTC), Amerindian Act (2006), the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, among other implementations that are aimed at protecting the rights of Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples.

Dr. Jagdeo related: “All of these seminal things have been part of that journey to ensure that Indigenous communities can have greater representation.”
Regarding one aspect of development, while highlighting the numerous improvements within the health sector, he pointed out that over $200 million was allocated to upgrade hospitals and US$60 million will go towards building four major diagnostic centres/ hospitals.
Dr. Jagdeo further remarked: “When we were campaigning, I went to one village and the health care workers took me into one of the facilities; we opened a cupboard and it was practically empty… no medication…,” adding that when the PPP/C assumed office, they had to burn $10 billion worth of expired drugs that the previous government had procured.
Additionally, he said that the ability to move without hurdles is being targeted by his administration and hence the massive number of investments within the public works sector.
“It is huge sums of money that you may not see because it doesn’t come directly to your village, but it will benefit and change the lives of people in villages in these areas,” the Vice-President remarked.

On the topic of education improvements, Dr. Jagdeo said that the government has agreed on the construction of seven schools in the hinterland.
“…Just yesterday, we agreed on 10 schools, about seven of which will be in the interior including in Region Seven; either we go in Waramadong or Kamarang…” he related.
On the education side, $4 billion is being expended to build schools in the hinterland, so that students are adequately accommodated to receive quality education.
Additionally, job creation also remains a priority, as Dr, Jagdeo pointed out that another 1,000 part-time workers have been hired in Region Nine, adding to the over 4,500 workers currently employed in various hinterland communities.

“The development of these communities is important to us. Every time we make a promise, we have every intention of fulfilling it,” the Vice-President reiterated.