The head of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), Lenox Shuman yesterday called on leaders of the indigenous peoples to construct plans to absorb the monies to be set aside for their communities from a massive carbon credits deal.
In a statement yesterday, Shuman, also Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, commended the Government of Guyana on their recent sale of carbon credits. A US$750m deal with Hess Corporation over 10 years was announced on Friday by the government.
“It is the actualization of visionary leadership and thinking by the Government of Guyana in recognizing the importance of sound environmental stewardship and its importance to sustainable and responsible economic development”, Shuman said.
Having had an opportunity to contribute to the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), he said that the LJP sees the LCDS as one of the most progressive steps forward to supporting indigenous peoples in terms of land tenure security, economic development, and governance. He said that within the context of the LCDS, the recent sale of carbon credits and the earmarking of over $23 billion in support for indigenous communities demonstrates that the government is resolute in fulfilling its commitment to the Indigenous Peoples of Guyana.
The initial sale of US$750 million of carbon credits is expected to be followed by a second tranche of another significant quantum, he said.
“We now call on the indigenous leadership to carefully craft plans to support the government in assimilating this support to the people’s benefit and developing transformative frameworks that will foster their communities’ development”, Shuman urged.