Throwing his support behind this year’s budget, opposition member and Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) Lenox Shuman on Friday said that the planned infrastructural investments in the hinterland will empower the indigenous people.
“It is a very critical and important start to giving those communities close to that roadway access to the marketplace… I’m happy to know that, that critical links in this country are being looked at, it may not be everything that we want, it may not be all that we want but they’re critical…” Shuman, who also holds the post of Deputy Speaker, said while applauding the government’s infrastructural plans for the hinterland.
As he made his contribution during the 2022 budget debate, he said that both sides of the House would not always agree on the initiatives but the rollout of infrastructure is “critical because when those roads get built, our people have to be empowered”.
Shuman, whose party holds a seat in Parliament with two other small parties, The New Movement (TNM) and A New and United Guyana (ANUG), added that the construction of the critical thoroughfares does not only improve access but creates new economic opportunities for indigenous communities by opening up new markets.
“…I compliment the government for putting forward a very robust infrastructural development plan for Guyana… in order to drive economic development in any country, you need a strong and vibrant infrastructural plan,” Shuman, the former Toshao of St Cuthbert’s, emphasised.
In the same breath, he applauded the work of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, which within the last year donated tractors, trailers and ploughs to communities to aid farming activities. Shuman appealed to the indigenous communities to start making use of the equipment as the roads will provide new access to markets.
He noted that while on many occasions Guyana has been referred to as the next Dubai much resources have to be put in place and budget 2022 sought to lay the foundation for such.
“It is important that we contextualize the budget and its needs for today’s society and for future growth… It required responsible and responsive fiscal management, infrastructural development and planning, human capital, an economic plan, all these things go hand in hand,” he stressed.
Shuman further stated while his colleagues on the opposition side of the House might have some apprehensions towards his position, he said it is vital that they practice cooperative politics instead of adversarial politics.
“We have to work in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana not the combative Republic of Guyana,” he added while calling for an “all hands on deck” approach to build Guyana.
“Maybe my colleagues will say I make a terrible Opposition politician…So when I stand here, and I’m giving jack his jacket, it is because there needs (to be) all hands on deck. I cannot say that I came here to build one Guyana to help this country grow. But then I take those very same hands and words to tear structures down. We have to operate from a position of logic, Mr. Speaker,” he reasoned.
The former Vice Chairman of the National Toshaos Council said that he looks forward to working with the government and engaging in dialogue on finding ways to ensure that the cultural losses of the indigenous peoples do not go unnoticed.
Back in December last year, the Deputy Speaker had charged that the PPP/C administration had failed to consult with Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples on crucial matters.
In a letter to this newspaper he voiced his belief that the PPP/C government has “zero inclination to meaningfully consult the Indigenous Peoples on any matter” and that it is more disposed to throwing money at the communities’ problems instead of finding meaningful solutions.
In his budget address on Friday he also criticized the APNU+AFC coalition for failing to honour the wishes of the citizenry and providing vital leadership to the country.
He argued that the APNU+AFC leadership sought to penalise the views and infringe upon the freedom of Guyanese with the introduction of the Cybercrime bill and the events that occurred subsequent to the passage of the No Confidence Motion in December 2018.
Brink
“I think we would have seen a completely different society in Guyana, one that would have seen us maybe not only come to the brink of collapse…we would have been firmly in the grip of a dictatorship,” he opined.
The controversial Section 18 of the Cybercrime bill, which had been the subject of intense criticism of the APNU+AFC government, originally provided at Subsection (1) (a) that a person commits an offence of sedition, punishable by imprisonment for five years, if the person, whether in or out of Guyana, intentionally publishes, transmits or circulates by use of a computer system or any other means, a statement or words, either spoken or written, a text, video, image, sign, visible representation, or other thing, that brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in Guyana.
The subsection on sedition was removed by way of an amendment brought by then Attorney General Basil Williams, who noted that government amended the bill based on criticisms received in 2018.
Shuman also voiced his disapproval of the behaviour of members from the opposition APNU+AFC during the 2021 budget estimates and the recent events that unfolded in the House prior to the passage of the Natural Resource Fund Bill on December 29th last year.
“…When people have no leader, I will tell you what happened, Mr. Speaker. What happens is what happened at budget debates last year in this very House and also repeated in December of 2021. In this very house, it is listless, rudderless…but a lot less of anything that one would expect from parliamentarians in this House… As parliamentarians, we have a moral and ethical obligation to ensure that we stand in the highest repute because the public at the end of the day looks at us for guidance…” he said.
