…land titling, food security high on agenda

THE annual National Toshaos’ Council (NTC) Conference will open this morning at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre with the review of the Amerindian Act, land titling and food security, among indigenous peoples being major agenda items.The conference affords members of the NTC to interact with members of the government to find solutions to their issues and explore developmental avenues.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Guyana’s First Peoples, Preserving Our Culture and Land for life.”

During a press conference on Friday Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Sydney Allicock disclosed that one of the main issues to be discussed at the conference will be the Amerindian Act of 2006. According to the Minister, Toshaos representing the 212 indigenous communities will be submitting recommendations for the revision of the 10-year-old Act.

Minister Allicock pointed out that Guyana is the only country that has a legal document that speaks to indigenous people. However, the Minister also stated that, “It needs strengthening, time changes… and to make us stronger, we need to address some of these issues and there has been a call from all the communities and the ministry is willing to facilitate.”

Another issue that will be addressed the Minister said, is food security in the hinterland. Minister Allicock said that indigenous people should be able to effectively utilise their environment. “Food security is a must in these communities, and government led by the ministry of agriculture is working towards having agricultural institutes within these regions. Regions nine and seven are already in the process of establishing those institutions,” the Minister explained.

According to Minister Allicock, the establishment of the institutes will also lead to job opportunities, openings for higher learning and the introduction of new products on the market. Additionally, Chairman of the NTC, Joel Fredericks said that another issue affecting the indigenous people, which will be discussed at the conference is land titling. Fredericks noted that he is aware that it is a process which will take time to complete.

However, the Chairman pointed out that members of the NTC will use the conference to “share some of our ideas and our thoughts on how we see things in addressing our land issues because land is very important for the indigenous people’s way of life.” Fredricks further added “We want the government to listen to us, because despite some of us may not have a good education background, we know how to deal with certain issues because the indigenous people have been living there for years. “The chairman is hoping to work together in unity in addressing issues not only for the indigenous people, but for the development of the country as a whole.

PNCR Congress
Meanwhile, in a statement on Sunday the ministry chided PPP Chief Whip Gail Teixeira for asserting that the NTC’s conference was rescheduled by government to coincide with the 19th Biennial Congress of the Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR). The ministry said Teixeira’s comment is nothing short of the imaginations. “This assertion is, accordingly, rejected out of hand by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs. The Ministry makes bold to say that the PPP is the political entity which has already commenced its harassment of Indigenous leaders by demanding meetings with them at the premises of a leading PPP sympathiser. It is the PPP which seeks to piggy back on government spending in furtherance of its failing political agenda,” the release added.

According to the ministry it is regrettable that those who sat in the seat of government of this country and who at every opportunity ensured that our society remained divided continue even in opposition to plant seeds of division and discord. “The same mischievous and malicious acts of the PPP were clearly evident in the run up to the last NTC conference, Heritage celebrations and the reconstruction of the historic Umana Yana. This behaviour is demonstrative of a political group which has lost direction and is rapidly becoming irrelevant. It reminds of the proverbial drowning man clutching at straws.”

The NTC is self-determining, the ministry’s statement added, stating that the executive committee of the NTC initially planned to have their conference from July 18th to 22nd. “Unfortunately, the preferred venue was unavailable for the planned period of time. The records will show that, the Ministry of Social Protection had already secured that venue for the same time. Consequently, there was consultation on the matter involving Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Vice President Sydney Allicock who is an ex-officio member of the NTC,” the statement read. It added that Vice President Allicock proposed an alternative venue in a bid to ensure that the conference was convened on the planned date, citing the expectations of the Indigenous leaders who will be in attendance. Leading members of the NTC executive did not find favour with this proposal and in typical democratic fashion, the Vice President yielded to the majority.

The next available and most convenient date for hosting of this event was communicated to the Ministry by the NTC, hence, the rescheduling of the conference to August 22nd to 27th 2016.

“The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs takes this opportunity to congratulate Guyana’s Indigenous leaders for their strength and continued resolve as they set about the several and varied deliberations planned for this conference; that they have for the first time ever in the history of the NTC’s existence spare-headed the planning of their conference is testimony of government’s recognition of, and respect for their right to self-determine and their capacity to lead.

In this the year of our Golden Jubilee it is useful to reflect on the first ever meeting of Indigenous leaders of Guyana which was held at the Parliament Building in 1969. There the delegation of Indigenous leaders (referred to as Village Captains) was led by Mary Williams of Mainstay/Wayaka. This meeting resulted in among several other things, the establishment of the Amerindian Lands Commission and the commencement of the Land Titling process for Indigenous Villages.”