186 hinterland communities established sustainable projects under ADF- projects come to an end this year

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DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, February 28, 2018

As the Community Development Plan (CPD) under the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF) of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) comes to an end this year, some 186 hinterland communities would have received funds of up to $5M to execute green sustainable projects.

The Community Development Plans (CDPs) is an important project document that encapsulates economic growth, development, and visioning. It follows the same procedure and approval process as that of the Village Plans prepared by the Village Council, which is governed by the Amerindian Act, and approved by village general meetings.

Jeremy Simmons, Community Development Facilitator, Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs/ United Nations Development Fund (UNDP).

The plan was implemented over a three-year period. Projects executed includes, farming, agro-processing, aquaculture, poultry and cattle rearing, mining, village infrastructure including; construction of village office and multi-purpose building, village shop and museum, and transportation and tourism.

Community Development Facilitator, Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs/United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) Jeremy Simmons, explained that the project is in its final stages, where the project department is visiting the various projects executed, and conducting follow-up training in management.

“…We know that quite frankly starting a small-scale business, the success rate could vary. Some villages are doing better than others. Some requires a little more hand-holding and so on, but by and large they have been largely successful in getting their businesses up and running”, Simmons told the Department of Public Information (DPI).

He pointed out that, “The grant is a one-off grant. The current project is labelled ADF II because there was a pilot (ADF I) which identified 27 Villages. This was used as learning experiences to apply to ADF II…Once the villages would have received their grants and operationalised their business, they are expected to generate funds now.”

On the issue of training, Simmons said from the inception, the department sought to provide training in transparency and accountability, to ensure that each village council was equipped with the knowledge of how to prepare basic cash book, financial reports and to account for the monies being spent.

Further, he explained that the department is in the process of conducting sessions in the actually operation and management of businesses. Simmons noted that some 12 villages are yet to receive the second tranche of the monies.

The CDPs are intended to secure livelihood options for Indigenous villages and hinterland communities.

 

By: Synieka Thorne

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