Dear Editor,
Is interesting but not surprising to see the hypocrisy of the APA and Janette Bulkan coming to light again. Two political caricatures, quiet during their party’s term in office, have emerged from the woodwork. Others avoid calling them out, but everything they say is infused by political motivation that it must be done.
Bulkan’s brother served an underwhelming tenure as Minister of Local Government in the PNC administration from 2016 to 2019. Laura George was granted a Ph.D. by the PNC Administration from 2016 to 2019 for scholarly work that never saw the light of day, and Jean LaRose was second on the list of candidates for the now Opposition political party.
From January/February to June 2022, I sat on the MSSC and participated in nationwide stakeholder consultations on the LCDS, and it is one of the most comprehensive processes to date. APA was part of the planning of the sessions, part of informing the materials produced, and attended some of the sessions. They sat at the MSSC and saw and supported the proceedings. On the day of the MSSS meeting, the APA claimed to have got the date ‘mixed up and did not attend. This irresponsible act signals clearly that they supported the LCDS throughout the 7-month consultation, and had no basis to say otherwise, so they hid from the meeting.
It is dishonest of Laura George, the APA representative on the Committee, to say otherwise. It is simply dishonest.
The motives are clear: creating a pathway for sustainable development for Indigenous peoples is threatening to the political objectives of these letter writers. The decision to bring value to a resource that Guyanese have protected for decades is, without question, one that supports development. My Indigenous brothers and sisters support this.
I call on all Indigenous leaders in Guyana to let your voices be heard, and not let the APA and elitists like Bulkan prevent you from receiving payment for forests that you have protected for many years. The question we should ask Bulkan and APA is this: “What are you trying to get out of stopping the LCDS financing from coming to us? What is in it for you?”
The time is now to transform village livelihoods, and the LCDS and revenues from the sale of carbon credits would go a long way in achieving this.
Sincerely,
Peter Persaud
President, TAAMOG
