THE National Toshaos’ Council (NTC) is urging Government to speedily resolve the many land disputes in Amerindian communities. The body has expressed concerns about the permits being granted to non-indigenous peoples to mine on their traditional lands. In a statement issued after their March 31, 2016 executive conference, the toshaos said that while many pressing issues were discussed, the points of greatest urgency to be addressed remain the continuous land disputes, disputes between indigenous communities and miners, and the issuing of permits by GGMC and GFC to non-indigenous peoples for traditional indigenous lands.

“This in itself puts the revisions of the Amerindian Act of 2006, the Mines Act, and the Forest Act all as top priority for the NTC to lobby the Government of Guyana to move on,” the NTC said in its statement.

According to the body, the resolution coming out of the NTC Conference in August of 2015 was for the NTC to develop a constitution and other governance structure through its regional and sub-regional bodies, to put the NTC on a better footing; to have a timeframe for the current Amerindian Land Titling (ALT) programme extended; to support the Government in the development of an Indigenous Lands Commission; to work towards advancing the rights of women and gender balance, and to see the revision of the Amerindian Act of 2006; and to have it included in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as integral parts of the new Act, to name a few.

According to the NTC, these resolutions, to date, have been impeded by lack of finances to have movement in any direction, thus hampering the NTC’s ability to meet its mandate under the Amerindian Act, or even to grow.

According to the body, a budget was submitted to the current administration for $38M, of which the NTC was granted just over $12M. “This puts the organisation at a severe disadvantage to do any effective work. While the NTC is aware that monies are available through other financing agencies, including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to execute projects, it is important to understand that the NTC does not have the necessary financial infrastructure to apply, thus the NTC is put at the footstool of many other organisations that may want to take advantage of the NTC to push their agenda.”

On the issue of lands, the NTC said it sees “that land to our indigenous sisters and brothers are of utmost importance, as we have traditionally cared for and taken care of these jungles and lands for millennials.”

The body has said that, under that light, it supports the ALT programme. “However, we do have some reservations about the exclusion of traditional lands under the programme. We are also calling on the Government to seek an extension from the Government of Norway to the funding and timeframe for this programme.”

The NTC said it looks forward to working with the Government on key initiatives to help protect indigenous people’s ways of life, culture, traditions, and to securing their lands. “In that light, to name one initiative, we are working in consultation with indigenous communities and with the Government and Conservation International on a key initiative to see communities plan better for their future in the form of a Community Development Plan.”