…Min. Allicock urges Toshaos

VICE-PRESIDENT and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, has accused the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Executive of speaking from both sides of its mouth, preaching political neutrality from one side and “igniting disunity” from the other, in their quest to gain political points ahead of the 2020 General Elections.

The Indigenous People’s Affairs Minister hit back at the NTC on Friday, one day after the Executive members of that body had accused operatives within the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government of political interference, at a time when over 200 Toshaos are meeting in the capital city – Georgetown – for the National Toshaos Council’s Conference at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).

But according to the NTC Executive, the minister’s claims are “baseless” and “unfounded.”
In a statement on Thursday, the NTC expressed the view that the move to alter the agenda for the conference was a “blatant attempt to undermine the legitimacy and credibility of the NTC and its representatives.”

On the sideline of the conference on Friday, the NTC Chairman, Joel Frederick said the current rift between the Government and the NTC stemmed from the Indigenous People’s Affairs Ministry’s decision to change the agenda for the conference without consulting the Executive.

It was explained that after the agenda was submitted to the Ministry, it was amended to include presentations from Ministers of the Government, in the evenings from 18:00hrs to 20:00hrs, but the Executive felt that it would have been too tiresome for the Toshaos, considering the fact they were engaged in sessions all day for the five-day conference.
Frederick said their suggestion to have these ministerial presentations done on a single day, being Thursday, fell on deaf ears. “There was no consultation….and it’s like this ‘take this, you have to work with this.’ But that’s not consultation and that is why we have an issue,” the NTC Chair explained.

FAILURE TO PREPARE
But Minister Allicock had a different story to tell. According to him, although the NTC Executive failed to prepare an agenda for the 2017 Conference within a timely and reasonable manner, it utilises every opportunity to spew disrespectful remarks and complaints.

Upset about the situation, the minister said that it was at the 11th hour that an agenda was presented to the ministry, and as such, the ministry took the decision to invite President David Granger and the Ministers of Government.

And, although there were objections on the part of the NTC Executive, Minister Allicock said a decision was taken to invite the ministers to interact with the Toshaos, based on the belief that in the past, many of them had returned to their respective villages with unanswered questions because they were not allowed to interact with the authorities. He opined that the nightly platform created an opportunity for the ministers to hear directly from the Toshaos and vice versa.

BUDGET
The issue of the Government reducing the NTC’s budget was also brought to the fore. Cognisant of the geographical spread, and communication and transportation difficulties of hinterland villages, the NTC said in 2015, in keeping with its mandate under Section 41 of the Amerindian Act, it submitted a budget for 2016 to the tune of $38M, but in return was only allocated $12M. In 2016, the NTC once again submitted a budget for 2017 for $48M and was given $16M. “This year, realising the continued lack of finances to execute its mandate, the NTC said it submitted a budget for $87 Million. The NTC was subsequently told that any budget request should not in principle, exceed a 10 percent increase, thus we are expecting little to no change,” it stated.

However, the Minister in response said, “We were not able to get the funding that was requested, so we had to make do with what we have. Instead of being aware, and conscious and willing as leaders to stretch the dollar, they prefer to sit and complain.”
According to him, while the APNU+AFC Government is trying to “unify” the country, the NTC Executive is attempting to “ignite disunity.” He opined that the tactics being employed by the NTC Executive are aligned with their “political ambitions.”

“They are already gearing up for the next elections,” Minister Allicock told reporters, adding: “Although the leaders of the NTC said this is not politics, this is exactly what they are doing…trying to ignite disunity.”

Minister Allicock said these attempts come at a time when the Government is trying to bring the nation together. “Our drive is unifying this nation – the coastal to the hinterland because we as Indigenous people have a role to play in national development.”
Instead of complaining, the Indigenous People’s Affairs Minister said the NTC should have used the opportunity to address critical issues and grasp a greater understanding about the budding Oil and Gas Sector.

“This was the opportunity to allow the Toshaos to understand how serious this is and what plans do they have to ensure that they begin to prepare their young people which would be the workforce for the eventual opportunity of infrastructure development, renewable energy development, communication development, better hospitals, better everything. When will we prepare our youths for this potential development? Time is short and that is what I was hoping that they would have been focusing on,” he stated.

However, Minister Allicock’s claims were rejected by NTC Vice Chairman, Lennox Shuman. “I think those remarks might be slightly unfounded and baseless on the Minister’s part,” Shuman told Guyana Chronicle. The NTC Vice Chairman said he had held fast to the belief that Toshaos should participate in party politics based on the belief that they are very influential at the level of their villages. Based on this belief, he opined that it would only be fair to demand the same thing from the NTC.

Shuman, however, said objections usually cause problems. “The minute you oppose anyone, you simply say no…this is not in our interest. Immediately, instead of attacking the issues, they attack the personalities. They associate the fact that you would say no to something as a member of the opposition,” the NTC Vice Chairman stated.
“I think for a country so small, we should not be this divided,” he added.

Contending that the arguments put forward by the Indigenous Affairs Minister are “unfair,” Shuman noted that it was because the NTC believes in “good governance” it had engaged Ministers of Government, but made it clear that the Council has no legal obligation to consult with the Ministry.

“It is time we have objective discussions. There is no political agenda. NTC cannot be a political body, because when politics gets into indigenous communities, it divides the communities.”
Addressing the issue of the tardy preparation of the agenda, the Toshao maintained that the agenda needed to be adopted by the Executive before it could have been presented to the Ministry.

“The Executive could not have gotten out here any sooner. So, until the executive actually adopts and has an opportunity to adopt an agenda, then we cannot present it to the Ministry because then we get lambasted for non-inclusivity.”
It was noted that the agenda was designed to gather detailed information about the issues addressing the various villages with the intention of having them addressed systematically.

For Shuman, both the Government and Opposition are afraid of the possibilities if Indigenous People unite. “Both political parties are afraid of the Indigenous Peoples uniting, both of them, because we pose a threat to them. At the end of the day, it is the Indigenous vote that determines who sits in office and that is the reality, it is not a threat, it is a reality,” he opined.