GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Oct 26, 2014, CNS – Guyana says it will receive US$35 million from Norway under the forests and climate change partnership between the two countries.
President Donald Ramotar in a nationwide radio and television broadcast said Norway will pay Guyana the funds for the global climate services provided during 2012.
“The latest payment will bring our total funds earned under the Partnership to US$150 million,” Ramotar said, adding that the announcement by Norway “is also a strong rebuttal to those who have tried for several years to kill our Low Carbon Development Strategy and the Guyana-Norway partnership.
“For many years, vested interests in Guyana tried repeatedly to prevent our country from receiving this money from Norway. On failing to do so, some politicians tried in three successive national budgets to stop the money from being invested in our people’s future.”
Ramotar said that most recently, the detractors “attempted to kill the flagship of the Low Carbon Development Strategy, the Amaila Falls Hydro Project” adding “ I hope that they will now abandon their efforts to destroy one of Guyana’s most pioneering national initiatives”.
Ramotar said that over the last five years, Guyana has been laying the foundations for a genuinely low carbon economy.
“We are maintaining 99.5 per cent of our forest, and showing the world that it is possible to do this while simultaneously generating jobs and economic growth from sustainable forestry and mining practices.”
He said new low carbon economic sectors were growing fast; small businesses were creating low carbon jobs and that Amerindians are achieving secure tenure over their land.
Ramotar said using the funds received from Norway “we are working with local banks and other financial institutions to stimulate the creation of 2,200 low carbon jobs over three years in small businesses and vulnerable communities.
“The payments from Norway are also enabling the advancement of the LCDS Amerindian Development Fund. 187 Amerindian villages, communities and settlements produced impressive Community Development Plans. In the last year, 26 of them received funding through this programme – creating low carbon opportunities in ecotourism, sustainable agriculture and manufacturing,” he added.
President Ramotar said that while the country has so far earned US$150 million “in the coming months the independent, international validation of deforestation rates in 2013 will be completed and Guyana will receive the fifth payment under the partnership with Norway.
“We expect that this will be an even higher payment than the one announced today and the total payments earned by Guyana will soon come close to US$200 million, all of which is being invested in our Low Carbon Development Strategy.
“It hasn’t been an easy road at times. But we prevailed against these setbacks, and money is now flowing into our priority investments – both from our own budgetary resources and from the money we have received from Norway,” Ramotar told the nation.
CNS/db/2014
