Oil wealth not reaching Hinterland communities – AFC

Oct 10, 2022 News

…says Amerindians also not benefiting from Local Content Law

Kaieteur News – Despite enacting a Local Content Legislation last year, to ensure Guyanese citizens benefit from jobs in the oil and gas sector, Hinterland communities are unable to participate due to the lack of internet access and training opportunities, among others.

This is according to the Alliance for Change (AFC) party who during a Press Conference last Friday told members of the media that the PPP/C Government has not implemented specific programmes to ensure the revenue stream from the petroleum sector reaches and benefits those in the Hinterland.

During the recently concluded Guyana Basins Summit (GBS), Lorena Salazar, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) Chief of Operations and Guyana Country Representative urged that the oil money must not stagnate on the coasts, but must trickle down to Hinterland communities in Guyana to ensure equitable development in the country.

AFC Chairperson, Catherine Hughes

She said it is critical to leave no one behind. According to her, “that means not just focusing on the coastland but also checking the Hinterland. What are the opportunities of the people in the Hinterland?” The IDB Country representative argued that the opportunities should not only be extended to the education and health sectors, but also in the areas of communication and access among others.

Salazar was keen to note that the future of the country is its people, hence measures should also be taken to explore the skills needed that may not have been taught in school. She pointed out, “So there are several areas that a country of new oil and gas should take a look and I would say that if I can compare to my country and other countries, I would say that that is the best part, of when a country focus on the other sectors (on) how to develop the country.”

To this end, the AFC was questioned whether it believes this has been the undertaking in Guyana. The party’s Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan told Kaieteur News, “I do not believe that the Amerindians are in any way benefitting specifically from that and that is one of the reasons why we feel that there ought to be a properly worked out strategy. The PPP talks about the Low Carbon Development Strategy and all of that or the Revised Low Carbon Development Strategy but I don’t see anything there which indicates clearly what will be the benefit.”

On the other hand, Ramjattan said what is obvious is the party’s support to a select few on the coasts, which he believes are geared towards buying votes for the PPP.

“That oil revenue stream that was signed onto by the Coalition Government is supposed to be across the board in relation to its beneficiaries- not only a certain set of people. And that is why we will maintain that they do not want to put the names of the people who have so far been beneficiaries of the cash transfers,” Ramjattan noted.

The former Minister of Public Security added that as oil revenue continues to increase, it is critical for the funds to reach everyone’s pockets directly or indirectly.

AFC Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan

Additionally, the AFC’s Chairperson, Catherine Hughes said that the physical location of the Hinterland communities, coupled with the lack of internet access has further scaled up the disadvantage to these residents.

She explained that because of their distance away from the Capital city of Georgetown where most of the business opportunities are, persons residing in Amerindian villages would be unable to respond to Request for Proposals (RFPs) or access training to boost their skills to get jobs in the burgeoning sector.

Hughes, the former Minister of Public Telecommunications under the Coalition administration went on to point out that the former Government had installed internet in more than 78 Hinterland communities by 2019. Public buildings, such as schools, hospitals, health centres and Regional Offices among others were a few to benefit, she reminded.

However, the AFC Chair argued that after the Coalition was removed from office, the new administration failed to maintain these hubs, therefore depriving the Hinterland communities even more of not being able to compete.

She reasoned, “What is sad is that everybody seems to have forgotten what took place and is not questioning why we’re not expanding. It’s not the AFC or APNU that loses out when that internet is not accessible to citizens, when it is not expanded, when it is not maintained, it is the citizens of the Hinterland.”

It must be noted that even as stakeholders call for the Natural Resource Funds to reach to Indigenous communities, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has told Guyanese that the oil money collected each year for the two oil projects is merely enough to complete two projects. The VP was at the time speaking in Berbice about three weeks ago when complained that the money received from the sector is “not a whole lot”.  He explained, “When you hear a lot about the oil money and we’ve collected about US$350 million per year so far, the first two years, you think it’s a lot of money. But the Demerara Harbour Bridge alone, the four-lane bridge, there is US$260 million and the hospital, the Children and Maternal Hospital that we are building which will be a World-class hospital for our children and women – specialised hospital with the best care that you can get like any part of the world that’s about US$170 million. That alone is one year of the oil money.” He went on to note that these two infrastructural projects alone could use up the funds gathered, without even considering the highways to be built on the East Bank of Demerara and other road works scheduled for their Region. Notably, the projects he listed are all geographically placed on the Coasts, with no major plans announced for the Indigenous communities.