Dear Editor,
It has been revealed through the media that 135 Amerindian Villages have submitted plans to access monies from the Carbon Credit fund put aside for Amerindian development. Depending on the size and population of the villages between $10 to $35 million would be distributed
Editor I personally think this is a God-sent opportunity for the Indigenous man to climb out of poverty and quit depending on handouts if this money is used in the right way.
From past experiences with the distribution of Presidential Grants and other monetary handouts projects like village shops and village buses, to name a few, have proven unsuccessful in most villages mostly because of bad business practices and poor planning, lack of accountability and unpaid debts incurred by villagers among others. There is no reason to believe that things would be different now.
Editor the main reason why Indigenous villages remain underdeveloped is because the residents don’t have access to financing from banks to pursue their endeavours and this is because of the communal land policy. Accessing financing would level the playing field with other ethnic groups who have access to small loans etc provided for in the Government’s agenda.
With this in mind I strongly suggest that a National Indigenous Banking system with Regional branches be implemented to cater for this deficiency with some of the Carbon Credit funds .With strict repayment rules and oversight from the Amerindian Ministry this can go a long way in improving the lives of the Indigenous man. With some villages already putting forward plans for shops, supermarkets etc this is already heading for the usual “eat out and beat out” syndrome associated with Indigenous communities.
Respectfully yours,
Patrick Fitzpatrick
