Chairperson of the National Toshaos Council (NTC), Derrick John on Friday commended the Amerindian leaders for their contributions during the five-day NTC meeting which was held from October 21-25 at the Guyana International Conference centre. John deemed the meeting a success.At the conclusion of the event, the NTC Chairman told the media that they presented two resolutions, one on political parties’ unfair decisions related to the development and welfare of the Amerindians. John said that a lot of Amerindian development has been hampered.
He said that the sessions were very interactive and a lot was achieved, and expressed gratitude to the Toshaos and other leaders who travelled far distances to participate in the very fruitful event.
“Issues pertaining to Amerindian livelihood and Amerindian development were discussed and the Toshaos were very satisfied with the responses they were given,” he said.
John highlighted some of the major solutions such as the document signed for the $10.7M land titling and demarcation project, the assurance  of the 2012 presidential grants, the centres for the Information Technology training and the increased stipend for Toshaos and other leaders.
“I am happy that we can go back with that high expectation…It’s a step in the right direction and the commitment of the government was once again manifested, We look forward to the support from Government,” John stressed.
NTC Secretary and Toshao of Santa Rosa, Richard Cornelius stated that the second resolution was to make faster the long standing court cases that Amerindian face from time-to-time. He said that very often they have to wait for long periods for the conclusion of court cases for pertinent matters such as land issues.
Cornelius said that he was optimistic that this issue will be resolved since the Attorney General would have addressed it during his presentation at the NTC meeting.
Meanwhile, Liaison to the Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Yvonne Pearson said that the ministry was also pleased with the resolutions and recommendations and promised to continue working with Amerindian villages and communities to enhance their development.
NTC 2013 which saw 208 Amerindian Leaders participating provided the platform for dialogue and forward planning for Amerindian communities’ development. (GINA)

Caption:  (Graphics file; NTC photo