Constrained by limited finances due to government withholding their subvention, the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G) has stated that it will be taking a new direction in the offering of its services.
The organisation will focus on providing an array of training opportunities and policy advocacy to Afro-Guyanese, while continuing to host calendar events, Chairman of IDPADA-G’s Coordinating Council, Vincent Alexander explained during a press conference on Monday.
“We have revised our priorities to include greater focus on policy issues affecting people of African descent…We have shifted from the material kind of involvement to [training] and policy advocacy… that’s what we have done in the restructuring.”
Chief Executive Officer, Olive Sampson, related that they have been working with partners, such as the Guyana Economic Trust and Basic Needs Trust Fund, to offer opportunities to persons that are available to them. She noted that they have been doing these collaborations even before they lost the subvention.
“You can look forward to a calendar year that is quite busy with training programmes online, briefing opportunities, and exposing communities to opportunities they can seek to apply to. They are many, many, ways in which we can continue to serve our membership,” she pointed out.
Sampson added that while they have cut back on staffing, they still have persons available to help individuals in the application process for grants and other opportunities to boost their business and entrepreneurial skills.
Alexander also stated that they were happy to learn of the Ministry of Public Works’ planned programme to provide training in the preparation of tender documents for small contractors. He mentioned that this has been a course they have been running and done repeatedly. Over 77 persons, he said, have graduated from the programme they conducted.
The not-for-profit agency disclosed that through fund raising activities and donor support, they will continue to support the Kildonan and Sophia Night School.
Request for meeting
Alexander explained that they have been seeking an audience with President Irfaan Ali and the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson, but to date they have not received an acknowledgement of their request. He said that at one point they were invited to a meeting by the ministry but the minister was a no-show. However, they did meet with the Permanent Secretary, Melissa Tucker.
Alexander explained that despite meeting the president at public events and expressing the committee’s wish to meet, they have not been able to.
“Government has avoided any conversation with IDPADA-G, although since the last quarter of 2021 we requested a meeting with the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport and have since written the President and pursued a meeting with him three times in 2022. More recently, in service to the people of Mocha Arcadia, we wrote the Minister of Housing seeking an engagement. To date, we have not received an acknowledgement,” the Chairman of the Coordinating Committee lamented.
No subvention
The organisation has not received its budgeted monthly subvention from government since September 2022 and Sampson on Monday explained that there is currently an estimated $48 million owed to them. They have since filed a legal challenge against the government over the withholding of the subvention.
According to Alexander, they have managed to keep their “doors open” through volunteers and donations from persons locally and within the diaspora. Currently, the CEO functions as a volunteer at the organisation.
“We are not crippled, we are handicapped,” Alexander posited as he made reference to the financial standing of the organisation, while pointing out that staffing is necessary to provide efficient service delivery.
The Chairman noted that adequate human resources enables them to provide a range of services to their membership as well as organise their Ujamaa Exhibition and Sale for small businesses, along with large training programmes. The same body of staff also aided with the operations of the credit union.
Additionally, he reiterated that the organisation has had all its transactions audited from 2018 to 2021 and there was no flagging of financial infractions.
“It is worth reiterating that the audit conducted by the Ministry of Finance in 2021 found no basis for withholding the subvention,” Alexander said.
Through donations, the organisation has received a total of $110,000 in cash donations from concerned persons locally as well as immeasurable contributions of in-kind support.
Donations from the diaspora, he said, have amounted to US$3,053. “US$2,050 donated by a Guyanese-American who had launched a separate GoFundMe site and US$1,003 raised from the IDPADA-G Facebook page and other diaspora donors.” Alexander noted that the support was used to finance several initiatives including support for the people of Mocha Arcadia who were evicted from a government reserve.
However, IDPADA-G dismissed claims that the organisation’s sole purpose is to provide grants to their membership.
“We have continued to provide service to the African-Guyanese community and any other who may have an interest consistent with the programme of activities for the Decade. This, in addition to other forms of capacity building to empower the African-Guyanese community over our years of operation. We have led in the sphere of empowerment of the African Guyanese community,” Alexander stated.
He pointed out that the grants through 2018-2020 were funded through a discretionary fund by former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan. The sum of $10 million was disbursed to the agency and used specifically for grants. These, he said, were administered in 2019 with a sum of $343,000 remaining which was later disbursed in 2020.
“Unfortunately all of the references about us not giving were focussed around that. It is being represented that we got $100 million in 2020 and we gave out only $343,000 in 2020. It is a gross misrepresentation of the facts,” Alexander added.
However, it was noted that even after the expiration of the UN International Decade for People of African Descent, they are aiming to remain in place and continue offering services to persons.
Alexander stated that with the continued government subvention for the remaining two years they can make a significant impact and build on the achievements they have gained.
