Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai on Wednesday offered an in-person apology to Amber Andrews, the pageant contestant who was wrongfully crowned Miss Amerindian Heritage. In a brief statement posted on its Facebook page, the ministry stated that Andrews met with Sukhai, and Permanent Secretary Ryan Toolsiram in the company of her father, on Wednesday. The post stated that the ministry looks forward to working with the beauty queen, who represented Region Five, as an Amerindian Women Youth Ambassador to empower young women and girls in Indigenous Communities across Guyana. Meanwhile, Kristie Emma Rambharat, the official winner, has officially received her crown. The Ministry was forced to issue a full apology to all delegates due to the controversy over erroneous tallying, which it said led to the wrong person being declared queen on the night of the pageant. In a statement before the apology was issued by the ministry, Andrews had said that she was publicly humiliated and even cyber-bullied, not only by the audience, but also by the judges and other pageant personnel. As a result, she expressed her discontent with the ministry not issuing an apology to her in its initial release explaining the results or through any other medium. In photo, Andrews stands with Permanent Secretary Ryan Toolsiram (left) and Minister of Amerindian Affairs Sukhai (right) after being issued with an apology at the meeting on Wednesday. (Ministry of Amerindian Affairs Photo)
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