-Dr Jagdeo flays NGOs for trying to be monopoly voice of society

WITH the credibility of certain Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) being questioned owing to their selective nature on matters of national interests, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has made it clear that the party will not sit by and allow these organisations to act as the monopoly voice of society.
While many attempt to paint the PPP/C as intolerant to criticism, the party’s General Secretary set the record straight and said that the party supports NGOs and their opinions as this is natural in any democratic society.

However, he made it clear that the PPP will not turn a blind eye to those NGOs that want the government to seek approval from them as if they were placed there by the electorate.
At his weekly party press conference on Thursday last, Jagdeo, also the country’s Vice President, poured cold water on the claims made in a Stabroek News editorial which criticised President, Dr Irfaan Ali’s response to the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA).

He first questioned where was the APA when the former coalition government was placing measures on the indigenous communities to stymie development; the APNU+AFC terminated the contracts of almost 2,000 Community Service Officers (CSOs).
Further, the PPP General Secretary then spoke extensively on the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 and the government’s commitment to advancing Amerindian development.

Guyana received its first payment for carbon credits under a deal signed with Hess Corporation in 2022; US$75 million has been paid as the first payment from a total of US$750 million. The government, in collaboration with the National Toshaos Council (NTC), decided to directly inject 15 per cent of it into Amerindian communities while allowing them to still benefit from the remaining 85 per cent.

“We came up with a formula approved by the NTC, which is the elected body of a gathering of all the elected bodies, the officials, the toshaos, senior councillors, etc. across the whole country,” he explained.
Dr Jagdeo then stated that they agreed on the number of villages, which was 242 and how much money the communities would get, depending on population size.

With billions being allocated to these villages, he said all they had to do was meet, decide how to spend the money and send the minutes of the meeting, which must have 60 per cent attendance, to the government.
“So that meant the people in the villages wanted the money spent in a particular manner. Guess who wants that ended? APA. We must consult with them, this group that sits in Georgetown…” he stated.

However, after the APA failed to halt the development, the PPP General Secretary stated, “What they [APA] were trying to block is money going to 242 villages to assist there. So, they believe that they’re the monopoly voice. We must not consult with the Toshaos that are all elected leaders. We must consult with the APA. We must get their permission…”
He added, “That is what we are talking about, monopoly behaviour. So, should we not fight that? That is what I said [at] our Congress, we will fight it. They never had a mandate from the Amerindian people. They never had a mandate from the electorate but they want to block any initiative for the development of Amerindians,” the PPP General Secretary then firmly stated.