-Amerindian leaders welcome its return

WITH hopes to place emphasis on issues surrounding agriculture, telecommunications services and tourism development, toshaos across Guyana are looking forward to the return of the annual National Toshaos Conference (NTC), which opens today at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).

The feature address is scheduled to be delivered by President, Dr Irfaan Ali, while several members of the Cabinet are expected to be in attendance.

The hosting of the five-day conference marks its return after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which placed restrictions on social gatherings.

Required by the Amerindian Act to be held annually, the NTC brings together Amerindian leaders from over 212 hinterland communities. It is a platform for them to engage government officials and other stakeholders on issues pertaining to the development of their communities.

“The NTC provides guidelines and guidance to various villages and support mechanisms for good governance…So, it is a welcome initiative to see the conference returned,” commented 43-year-old Flagan Carter, Toshao of Rockstone.

“The two years that we have been without it has contributed to not enough persons being on commissions, and the work of the NTC in village investigations [being stalled], as well as our work along with the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, etcetera,” he added.

Located in Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Upper Berbice), Rockstone is a very remote village that is home to approximately 300 persons. It is mostly known for the annual tourism event, the Rockstone Fish Festival.

For some time now the village has been pushing to develop its tourism potential, and that is one of the issues he plans to raise during the conference.

According to Carter, members of his village began meeting last week Monday to begin putting together a list of issues they want him to present and lobby for during the conference.

“Some of the issues is the need for a cellphone tower, that is very important. Even with the blessings of the NDMA, we struggle to get messages and calls in the area. So we want to look at communications, we also want to talk about getting an ecotourism lodge, a generator, and we want to talk about the digging of a well. We were looking at ground maintenance and for the extension of the health centre. Those are some of the key areas we have earmarked that we will be highlighting,” Carter related.

Aside from just focusing on issues, Carter shared that the residents also want to thank the government for what it has done thus far for the community.

“We wanted to express thanks to the administration for the tractor and we received our hinterland grant, that’s something that we can applaud. Those are some of the small initiatives that we want to commend, because works have been ongoing,” he said.

Representing the Mainstay/Whyaka Village in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) will be Toshao Yvonne Fredericks-Pearson, who shared that she hopes to push the need for greater focus on agriculture in her community. She is hoping to speak with the Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha, to see what support the government can give to get more young persons in her village involved in the sector.

“What we plan to do, particularly for young people, is, we want something to get them energised, and to push agriculture in our village,” Fredericks-Pearson related in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle.

Mainstay/Whyaka is home to approximately 670 residents across 173 households. The main economic activities include logging, farming and some amount of tourism.

As it relates to what improvements she hopes to see for her village, she noted that the village has already met with President Ali regarding the state of a road in the village, and a promise was made to have it looked at.

“The only thing that is worrying our people is the road and we have met with the President not too long ago and so we hope that come next year in the 2023 budget, that will be addressed,” she noted.

Fredericks-Pearson, who is also a Member of Parliament, commended the return of the conference, noting that with the country at a pivotal stage of development, it is good for the indigenous people of the country to know how they can work along with the government to better their village.

“All of the toshaos are looking forward to this conference. It’s important because we are all talking about development and things are happening in our villages, so this is a good opportunity… to meet with the ministers, the President, and other toshaos. I hope we focus on development. Things are happening but we still need better. We have better health facilities, and we have access to more drug and medical supplies, but we would still like to see improvement,” she noted.

Aside from focusing on meeting with the government officials, Fredericks-Pearson highlighted that the conference provides a good opportunity for the toshaos to develop a better relationship with government and with each other.

She shared that she is looking forward to listening to issues being shared by the other toshaos and to see how she can play a role in supporting them and their efforts.
She expressed hope that toshaos will use the conference positively and focus on their development.

“It’s a good opportunity to share some of the positive things that are happening. It’s not just about ‘oh my village wants something and we’re badly off’, we want to hear more about government’s plans and we want to highlight some of those things that have been done in our village and also those things that need to be done,’ she expressed.

“I want to hear from the other toshaos what is happening in their village and perhaps even share some advice with them.  I’m not coming with baggage and a load of issues. I’m coming more or less to share and see how we can work together to deal with the issues affecting all the villages,” she added.