THE $147 million National Toshaos Council (NTC) Secretariat was commissioned on Monday at the Exhibition Centre at Sophia.

Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d), Mark Phillips, at the commissioning ceremony highlighted government’s commitment to Guyana’s indigenous people, according to a Facebook post.

The Prime Minister underscored the historical significance of the occasion, stating that yet another promise made by the government has been fulfilled, while encouraging the NTC to utilise the facility for impactful decisions.

“We recognise the importance of you, our Toshaos, and our Indigenous people, to have a place in Georgetown where you can deliberate on and discuss all the important matters that mean a lot to you and to the development of Guyana,” he said.

Chairman of the NTC, Toshao Derrick John, praised the journey from a humble desk to an independent secretariat building that reflects the government’s commitment. He hailed the secretariat as a testament to a government that supports all Guyanese.

The NTC Secretariat was constructed with an allocation of $127.8 million and an additional $20 million for furnishings. The secretariat includes an administrative building and a dome for meetings. It offers four self-contained rooms for village leaders attending city meetings.

According to the Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, their government is setting the pace in integrating the Indigenous population into national life and activities.

She also explained that, while the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs is the oversight institution for Indigenous Peoples, it is the elected leaders of the NTC that oversee the administrative functions of the Indigenous communities under the country’s laws.

“The NTC should feel very proud that our government has stepped up to ensure that as a council of leaders, as respected leaders, they should also have their own quarters,” Minister Sukhai said, adding: “The legitimately elected leaders for Amerindians, they have administrative functions under the law and also other functions under the law that they need to perform.”

And the provision of this secretariat is a key part of the government’s support. The government’s role, she said, is to provide the prerequisites that will ensure the full functioning of the council.

“… we need to ensure that they are provided with the level of accommodation or office space or secretariat and with the level of resources to complement the village councils in ensuring that Amerindians are set at a level where they can rightfully say they are indeed included and have access in an equitable way like every other ethnic group,” she added.