Following a video conference on Monday, the governments of Guyana and Suriname have agreed to immediately implement measures to ensure that riverine communities are able to engage in legitimate movements on the Corentyne River during the current COVID-19 lockdown.
The conference was convened following complaints from two Amerindian villages, Orealla and Siparuta, located on the Corentyne River.
In a report to the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) on Saturday, Carl Peneux, Toshao of Orealla, indicated that Suriname’s authorities had closed access to the Corentyne River due to their implemented curfew. This closure has been preventing travel to and from Corriverton resulting in a shortage of food and fuel for the village’s generating set and mechanical water-pump, among other essentials.
