IDPADA-G’s operations are political, do not support development of Afro-Guyanese – Walrond

The local International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly Guyana (IDPADA-G) operations are political and does not support the development of Afro-Guyanese businesses or communities.
This statement was made by Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Oneidge Walrond during a recent live broadcast. It come on the heels of comments made by Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes at the IDPADA-G 3rd Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent in Geneva, Switzerland.
Hughes, who represents the local IDPADA-G, told the International Committee that the Guyana Government is withholding funding valued at some $500M from the organisation and thus, African businesses under its care are lacking support.
Hughes further reported that the Government is seeking to decimate IDPADA-G by defunding the organisation without merit or justification.
In response, Walrond explained that providing budgetary funds to the organisation was a decision Government made a few years ago when IDPADA-G pledged to help local businesses owned by Guyanese of African Descent, establish youth development programmes, and expand technology training through a STEM Guyana partnership, among others.
However, she noted that while Government continued to budget monies from the nations fiscal package for the organisation, the funds were halted following numerous complaints from local groups claiming that they were not benefitting from funds provided in the past.
This prompted an investigation into the IDPADA-G’s financial operations, which Walrond claimed revealed that the monies were spent, however was unaccounted for.
It was alleged that monies provided a few years ago was spent on paying salaries and building rentals, among other political activities.
“There was an audit and as a result of the audit it was found that there were several issues of non-accountability of the funds. If you are providing funds to a Non-Governmental Organization then the receipts should show and they were not able to produce and hundreds of millions of were unaccounted,” she disclosed.

Support
Further, Walrond explained that the Guyana Government does not need to provide funds to IDPADA-G to foster the development of Afro-Guyanese, especially as it relates to demanding reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans, a position Guyana remains fully committed to.
She contends that the administration is passionate about improving the lives of all Guyanese and will deliver on its promises.
“I haven’t seen any interview from anyone who report to be leaders of Afro-Guyanese in Guyana be so vocal about the fact that we ought to be compensated and approach reparations and the request for reparations in such a structured way like we have and have it supported by finances and resources,” Walrond added.
Over $1.8 billion has been distributed in the last three years to promote and preserve culture, and develop sports infrastructure, with the International Decade of People of African Descent Assembly–Guyana (IDPADA-G) receiving the largest allocation: $360 million.
In 2023, the Government launched the Association of People of African Descent (APAD) to foster unity among Afro-Guyanese communities, drive positive social change, and empower all members to actively participate in shaping Guyana’s future. The association’s mission is to bring together Afro-Guyanese organisations, create a cooperative community, and eventually develop into a full-fledged representative body which would work alongside the Government to achieve its mandate.
Moreover, last year, the Guyana Government handed over some $63 million in funds to 35 African cultural groups in Guyana for projects in a wide variety of sectors, as well as for initiatives that seek to empower women. Each group got just over $1.8 million.

The groups that received funding had previously submitted proposals for projects in several areas, including in agriculture and the purchasing of agricultural equipment; business; cultural training in drumming, teaching craft, cooking traditional foods, and garment construction, among other areas. Some groups had also committed to work in literacy, women’s empowerment, and education in African and Afro-Guyanese history.
Distribution of the grants had occurred on the heels of the Guyana Government halting funding to the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly–Guyana (IDPADA-G), having cited the mismanaging of funds.
Instead, the Government has decided to distribute the money directly to the African cultural groups to achieve the objectives of the decade.
Court
IDPADA-G and the Government have been at loggerheads since 2022, when Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo accused leaders of the organisation of not passing down the benefits of state funding to the people, and misusing the budgetary allocations. After a series of public exchanges, IDPADA-G Chairman Vincent Alexander filed a $159 million lawsuit in November 2022, saying that Jagdeo’s allegations of IDPADA-G’s funds being misused had defamed him and impugned his character, among other things. He also denied “subverting public funds or using a race of people for self-advancement”.
In December 2022, IDPADA-G also filed a court case seeking the restoration of its $8 million monthly subvention. The group wants the funds to not only be restored, but also its continued payment until the decade officially ends next year.
In a press release to the media on February 6, 2023, IDPADA-G stated that it was never established with the sole purpose of providing grants to organisations. It explained that it has provided all audited transactions/documents from 2018 to 2021 based on Parliamentary approved budget.