Gadsby-Dolly: Amerindian village in train

JULIEN NEAVES

COMMUNITY Development Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said the Amerindian village project is in train and the first step of the long term project was being finalised.

She was responding to a comment by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar in her message yesterday commemorating the one-off First Peoples holiday. Persad-Bissessar recalled during her administration they took steps to grant a lease of 25 acres to the First Peoples for the purpose of the establishment of a Model Amerindian Heritage Village and Living Museum. The land is located along the hill slopes of the Northern Range on the Blanchisseuse Road, just outside of the main commercial area of the Borough of Arima.

Persad-Bissessar said: “This initiative has significant potential to support efforts at economic diversification through tourism, in addition to educating our children about the history and cultural traditions of the First Peoples. It is unclear what has become of this project; whether the current administration is taking any steps to advance this initiative, and I call on the Government to ensure that this becomes a reality for the First Peoples.” Gadsby-Dolly, in a telephone interview yesterday, said the administration had passed a Cabinet note granting the land. She said, however, the land is in a forest reserve and “dereservation” had to take place as a first step.

Gadsby-Dolly reported that prior to 2016 there was no legal documentation for this but the dereservation of the land was with the Attorney General’s office and the project was in train.

She said there was a committee in place to come up with the master plan and how the project would be run. She pointed out that in his address yesterday during the First Peoples celebration in Arima Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley indicated that after dereservation of land they will continue discussions regarding the building of the village. Gadsby-Dolly said construction will likely be done in phases though that had not been finalised.

She said the committee had “fell of the railing” but had been revamped. Gadsby-Dolly said the committee, which includes First Peoples representatives and their consultant, will present a master plan to her ministry and this will then be presented to Cabinet.