Over the last few days, the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Aubrey C. Norton, and his team met with hundreds of residents across the Indigenous communities within the Hinterland Region – Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region #9.
Mr. Norton held meetings and other forms of interactive engagements with our Indigenous Peoples throughout the villages of Parashara, Nappi, Upakari, Haiwa, Maruranau, Aishalton, Karaudarnau, and Sawariwau within the South and deep South Rupununi.
During this outreach, he outlined a clear policy for the next APNU+AFC, focusing on putting the people first as one of the main areas of development in his People-Centered Development Strategy (PCDS) for Guyana.
As he engaged the residents, several issues were raised regarding the challenges and development of the lives of our Amerindian peoples across the Rupununi.
Chief among those are:
- The registration of illegal migrants from Venezuela at GECOM and the bloated voter’s list.
- Land rights and land extension within several villages.
- Review and Amendment of the Amerindian Act.
- The unsafe condition of many schools across the communities, lack of Secondary Schools, and administration of Secondary Education.
- Lack of training, leadership, and entrepreneurial exposure.
- Lack of support in agriculture and small business development.
- Residents of several communities outlined the challenges of not having access to potable water and any storage of water for agricultural purposes.
- The residents also point out the need for Health Care Centers and staff along with ambulances for emergencies.
- The present case of children falling sick in Aishalton at the Secondary School dorms which has poor ventilation at both the school and dorms.
- All villages complained about the lack of respect for the Amerindian people by the current PPP government regarding the distribution of the carbon credit and the government blatantly ignored their voices.
- The residents disclosed that it is time that the government respects the rights of the Indigenous People by affording them the right to free, prior, and informed consent to matters regarding Indigenous Communities.
The Leader of the Opposition is set to visit several other villages along the North Rupununi in the coming days.