Staff members of the Bina Hill Institute Youth Learning Centre, in the North Rupununi, Region Nine have been sent home since the organization is unable to pay them, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported last evening.
Chairman of the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB) Michael Williams was reported as saying that Bina Hill Institute receives a Government subvention of $500,000 monthly, but this ceased since funds were cut from the government’s proposed budget during the consideration of the estimates.
Williams added that since then it has been a struggle to pay the staff members of the vocational institution. “We have reached a stage where we can’t maintain staff anymore,” he lamented.
Williams, however, noted that some of the workers have volunteered their services to see classes through.
GINA said the Bina Hill Institute’s focus it to build the capacity of the indigenous youth in the North Rupununi, developing leadership skills and preparing them for life in a changing world.
“The Centre was established in 2007 to build their capacity to face the challenges of the present society with emphasis on natural Resource Management, Business Development and Leadership Skills and Agriculture. Since then the Centre has also been admitting youths from other Districts in the Rupununi and even from other regions,” it added.
It also noted that the Centre is a place where young people who did not have the opportunity to complete either Primary or Secondary Education are afforded a chance of further training and education. Since its establishment, it said, some graduates of the Centre have gone on to higher Institutions of learning like the Guyana School of Agriculture, some have gone on to receive further training and to work with the Iwokrama International Centre and others have returned to their communities.
An allocation for some $1.1 B for the Amerindian Development Fund was voted down by to the parliamentary opposition during the consideration of the estimates over the lack of specifics about the planned expenditure and concerns that the funds were being misused for politicking.
