Gov’t committed to supporting organisations genuinely representing Guyanese of African Descent
–chides Olive Sampson’s attempt to assert control over Emancipation celebrations
Following brazen attempts by the Chief Executive Officer of the International Decade of People of African Descent Guyana (IDPADA-G), Olive Sampson to assert exclusivity over emancipation celebrations, the government has reaffirmed its support for organisations genuinely engaged in representing Guyanese of African Descent.
In a letter released to the newspapers, Sampson said IDPADA-G stands with the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA), in an attempt to dictate when, where, and how celebrations for the 186th Emancipation in Guyana are served.
Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy said the organisation has fallen from grace and is no longer suited to continue meaningful representation of Guyanese of African descent.
“Guyanese at home and abroad bore witness to the shocking revelations a few years ago, of IDPADA-G’s self-inflicted unravelling; of its incestuous mismanagement and misappropriation of public funds amounting to more than a billion dollars of taxpayers’ money at the expense of dozens of community-based organisations,” the minister pointed out in a recent statement.
The minister reminded that those at the helm siphoned the members’ money into a private company structure, resulting in only a few groups receiving funds.
This revelation, the minister noted, resulted in a vast majority of member groups abandoning the organisation and turning to the government for direct engagement and genuine representation.
“Their message was loud and unambiguous; for the government to periodically release the committed funds for the extended International Decade directly among them, to finally allow for transparent and credible adumbration of the cause for upliftment and empowerment beyond what is embodied in the government’s national transformation agenda,” the statement emphasised.
It will be recalled that the government intervened and implemented a new approach that ensures that the monies are disbursed directly to the various African organisations in Guyana.
In June this year, the government disbursed approximately $48.6 million to 27 groups, to support the vision of the United Nations General Assembly regarding the extension of the ‘Decade of People of African Descent.’
This was the second tranche of payment; the first seeing around 35 groups receiving funds for a range of projects.
According to the minister, against this backdrop, it is ironic that the Association of People of African Descent-APAD is being subjected to this “public lynching” by IDPADA-G.
“Recognition and unwavering support will flow unabated to those organisations genuinely engaged in representing Guyanese of African Descent, and whose ethos is not self-serving, incestuous, and corrupt,” the minister’s statement read.