While President Irfaan Ali on Monday announced that this year the Indigenous communities will receive 26.5% of Guyana’s earnings from carbon credits, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton has said that they are calling for 50% and above.
Speaking at his party’s weekly press conference yesterday, Norton further stated that the government has no interest in the genuine development of Indigenous communities as its actions are centred around controlling the lives of Indigenous people. He pointed to President Ali’s speech at the Toshaos conference which he said was a “clear indication that the government has no interest in the genuine development of Indigenous communities.”
Questioned about Ali’s announcement that this year, Indigenous communities will receive 26.5% of Guyana’s earnings from carbon credits amounting to US$23.2 million or $4.84 billion, which will be directly transferred to them, Norton said that the communities were requesting at least 50%.
He said, “Again it’s the manifestation of the arbitrary nature of the PPP, they should have consulted with the Indigenous communities which they didn’t, and most of the Indigenous communities are calling for 50% and above.”
Furthermore, according to the Opposition Leader, “The government failed to address the key concerns of Indigenous people, foremost among them the right to manage their organisation independently, the need for free prior and informed consent, and their desire to have sustainable communities.”
Referring to Region Nine, he said that the government had failed to identify measures to deal with the twin problems of drought and flooding. “We in the PNCR/APNU are committed to continue the development of reservoirs to save water during the rainy season and to develop a proper programme of drainage and irrigation to help the farmers and people of Region Nine,” he stated.
His party’s people-centred development strategy, he said, will focus on consultation with Indigenous communities with the aim of ensuring their sustainable development. According to Norton, the programmes being outlined by the government are not empowering the Indigenous people. “In our approach we will have training for Indigenous people to have the technical skills to do the work. We will also train them in financial literacy and small business management and help them to become contractors,” he added.
