–Minister Sukhai contends; says PPP/C does not offer ‘lip service,’ has fulfilled promises to Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples

THE Opposition’s failure to develop substantive policies for the betterment of Amerindians was sharply criticised by Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, who flayed them for their sudden shift in rhetoric.
Sukhai made this known during her presentation on the third day of the Budget 2025 debate in the National Assembly.

After being previously neglected under the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), Amerindians, under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) are benefitting from a number of initiatives, she related.
While lending her support to the $1.38 trillion budget, Sukhai said it further enhances and expands on the government’s achievements since its return to office in August 2020.

“The budget is fundamentally strong on transitioning and modernising Guyana. It presents policies for stimulating investment opportunities and allocating financial resources for expansion in every sector and yes, to further address and improve the lives of every category of our population. To do so, the path to better Guyana is manifested in significant investment to benefit the private sector, industry etc…,” she said.

Sukhai stated that the budget supports job creation, training, empowerment and building capacity for young people.

This means, according to her, the PPP/C government is making significant investments in human capital.
“We have focused on children, on students [and] now we are focusing on youth,” Sukhai stated.
With that said, she reminded the House of the APNU+AFC “wasting” the opportunities to develop Guyana when they were in office.
Several Opposition Parliamentarians made claims about the Community Service Officers (CSOs) and even went as far, to justify those workers’ termination.

Since resuming office, the PPP/C rehired the CSOs and said that this “novel” programme allows young Amerindians between the ages of 18 to 35 to have a “second chance in their community,” to contribute towards community development in a responsible manner.
Approximately $1.5 billion was allocated in the 2025 budget to assist 2,700 CSOs. The $4.2 billion that was already invested in the programme over the previous four years is increased by this amount.
Turning her attention to the Amerindian land titling activities which was inactive under APNU+AFC, Sukhai said: “Even though there was no oil money, even though we inherited a bankrupt economy and country, we in the PPP/Civic ensured that each year, monies were allocated for titling and demarcation.”

Speaking more on the APNU+AFC’s track record, the minister said: “The APNU+AFC, while in office, destroyed the options for young Amerindians when they were in office during that period.”
While there have been tremendous investments in land and water transportation in Indigenous communities by the PPP/C, this was limited under APNU+AFC.
In land transportation from 2020 to 2024 the PPP/C provided 226 vehicles while under APNU+AFC, they only provided 33, the Minister said.
As it relates to water transportation, in four years, the PPP/C delivered 269 boats and engines to Amerindian Riverine and hinterland riverine communities. Whereas, from 2015-2020, APNU+AFC only gave 62, she said.
She then stated: “We are not speaking here about lip service. We are not making promises in manifesto that we fail to address. Mr Speaker, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government has [fulfilled] its manifesto promises to the Indigenous Peoples,” she said.
Other subject matters that are key priorities food security, infrastructure, tourism, economic projects, women and youth projects along with social and productive projects.