254 Amerindian villages received $1M each to bolster development

254 toshaos and Community Development Council (CDC) leaders received $1 million from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, during day four of the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Thursday.

Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, handed over the grants which will bolster Amerindian and hinterland development.

Senior Counsellor of the Parakese area, Elaine Galdari, told the Department of Public Works (DPI) that the financial support from the government has and will continue to impact the lives of youths in her community.

“We have a sports club so the youths would be utilising this to upgrade the field. With the last million, we did a part but this additional million will complete it. At first, the youths used to be unoccupied but now seeing that they are getting these initiatives, it gives them the courage to participate more in sports,” said Galdari.

Senior Counsellor of Karaburi, Maruca, Earl Rodrigues also shared that last year, the $1 million grant was used to improve the community field, and this year, the money will go towards procuring sports gear.

“In the past, the young people did not have the opportunity to use the gear and because they have it now, this will give them greater exposure and to participate in different kinds of sports,” Rodrigues explained.

Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr said he is happy that the village leaders are returning to their villages with tangible results, not just promises or commitments.

He urged them to involve residents in deciding how to spend the funds, noting that this will promote community engagement and development.

Excluded from the 242 villages that benefitted from last year’s $4.7 billion carbon credit disbursement, the CDCs were included this year, following requests from several councils.

Guyana entered a multi-year agreement with Hess Corporation in 2022 to sell 30 per cent of its carbon sequestration over ten years.

The first payment in 2023 was US$150 million with US$22.5 million ($4.7 billion) allocated to 242 indigenous villages, funding projects in tourism, agriculture, infrastructure, and youth empowerment.

This year’s allocation has increased to $4.84 billion, a 26.5 per cent rise.