Greetings from the PNCR on Amerindian Heritage Month 2014

The People’s National Congress Reform congratulates our Amerindian Sisters and Brothers as they celebrate their heritage, during the month of September, and wishes them a happy Heritage Month 2014.

We have reached that point in the national calendar when Amerindian Heritage Month is once again being celebrated. The People’s National Congress Reform believes that this event is of particular significance because it presents the opportunity for our Amerindian brothers and sisters to showcase their outstanding historical and cultural contribution to the development of this nation. On each occasion that this is done it reminds the Guyanese population as a whole that Guyana is a nation of multi-culturalism, ethnic diversity and social pluralism.

The PNCR which has played a well-known role in the development of the various Amerindian Communities, including the hosting of the first Amerindian Conference in 1969 and the demarcation and distribution of Amerindian land titles, on this occasion, must give voice to its firmly held view that not enough is being done to protect these communities from being challenged by such dark issues as trafficking in persons, as outlined in several international reports.

According to a recent World Bank Report, the levels of poverty are highest in the Indigenous Communities in Guyana. The PNCR calls upon the PPP/C Administration to implement sustainable programmes to reduce the levels of poverty, in these communities, including programmes which empower them to become self-sufficient, rather than those that are now prevalent which perpetuate their dependency and reliance on handouts from Governments and other agencies.

The PNCR wishes our Indigenous Sisters and Brothers Happy Heritage Month celebrations and assures them that our Party continues to be irrevocably committed to the implementation of programmes for the empowerment of the Indigenous Communities while respecting their way of life.