Delivering the 2020 budget yesterday, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill said the PPP/C government will pursue a series of promises for the indigenous peoples including the hiring of 2,000 Community Support Officers (CSOs) and he also said $300m will be spent to spur agricultural activity.
These projects fall under the Amerindian and Hinterland Development section of the national budget and according to Edghill at the conclusion of his presentation on this sector, the projects are the key priorities of the government.
“Mr. Speaker, our first peoples in Guyana, for the last 5 years, were told of lofty promises and sold candy dreams but with no delivery. More jobs, improved healthcare, more access to education and acceleration of the land titling programme were among them. The reality is, from 2015-2020 there was the dismantling of the …CSOs programme putting almost 2,000 young Amerindians out of work, the stymieing of the Amerindian Land Titling Unit and the removal of resources previously earmarked for the development of their communities, such as for 6,000 household solar panel systems,” Edghill declared as he commenced the presentation for the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs sector.