Even as a legal battle ensues over funds for 2022, the government yesterday said that it will distribute the 2023 subvention for the celebration of the International Decade for People of African Descent to 55 organisations here representing Afro-Guyanese.
A statement yesterday by Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC said that the Government of Guyana wishes to state that it remains committed to honouring the objectives of the International Decade for People of African Descent, which spans the period, 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2024.
The Decade was proclaimed by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in accordance with UN Resolution 68/237 of 2013 and was fully supported by the Government of Guyana on 23 December 2013, Nandlall said.
He added that as a demonstration of its commitment, the Govern-ment has allocated monies for the advancement of the objectives of the Decade since it assumed office in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 and will continue to so do until the end of the Decade in 2024.
“While a part of the budgeted sum for the year 2022 is, unfortunately, the subject of legal proceedings, the monies budgeted and appropriated for the year 2023 are not.
“Government plans to disburse the 2023 subvention to 55 organisations representing Afro-Guyanese across the country, who are the founding members of the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G) to pursue the objectives of the Decade, he said.
IDPADA-G, which, has taken the government to court over the withholding of the 2022 subvention yesterday saw Nandlall’s announcement as contempt for the Decade and an attempt to divide.
Referring to the planned distribution to 55 groups, IDPADA-G said that this “action clearly shows contempt for the decade to which they purport to be committed. Their unilateral decision seeks to divide the African Guyanese community that collectively determined its modus operandi. Their pretext is that they are responding to concerns expressed by member organisations, albeit they have indicated that four of sixty-five organisations have approached them. We are aware that they have been canvassing IDPADA-G`s membership and are now seeking to give them carrots in the form of grants, instead of releasing the subvention to the collective”.
The organisation added: “They have sought to pit IDPADA-G against itself by juxtaposing the Board to the membership although the membership determines the composition of the Board and constitutes the Board from among themselves. IDPADA-G regards this matter as being before the Court and will continue its legal struggle for justice”.
IDPADA-G said it regrets the actions of Government that is “stymying the provision of service to the African Guyanese community under the guise that the monies should go to organisations when in fact the collective would have determined that the community should be served, not to the exclusion of organisations as they outreach to the community”.
