PERMANENT Secretary in the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Mr. Nigel Dharamlall has denounced the statement by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Parliamentary Representative of Region 9 (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo), Mr. Sydney Allicock, in which he castigated the Rupununi as the “most backward place in the Caribbean.”

In a telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, Dharamlall said the Government of Guyana and the ministry has been doing tremendous work in the region and encouraged Allicock to refrain from misleading the Parliament.
Allicock had made his derogatory remarks on Wednesday, when, in his contribution to the 2013 Budget Debate, he included a plethora of contradictory assertions.
The Member of Parliament (MP) also said that Lethem has seen significant growth in recent years.
Dharamlall maintained that hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested to develop the region, in areas such as tourism, biodiversity and human and socio- economic developments.
He said Allicock needs to spend more time in the Rupununi area in order to understand and rationalise the developments there, pointing out some in the MP’s own village, Surama.
Dharamlall alluded to such as the recent rehabilitation of the airstrip, provision of a bus for the community as well as the availability of Internet access at the lodge.
He said the ministry, totally, disagrees with the utterings of Allicock and declared that the Rupununi is a household name.
Dharamlall expressed hope, on behalf of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, that APNU supports Budget 2013, in the best interest of all Guyanese, adding that the greatest thing is the right to democracy.