(GINA) Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Kellawan Lall, at a conference for Amerindian leaders of Regions Eight and Nine, briefed them about the local government election which will be scheduled later this year as well as the local government reform legislation to be taken to parliament. He also advised them that the conduct of the election will be different.

A section of the participants at the conference.

“What is going to happen is, instead of electing the councillors solely on a Proportional Representation(PR) basis, we are going to have this time, 50 of the councillors elected on a PR basis and 50 percent on a constituency basis. Each NDC here in Lethem is going to be sub-divided into a certain amount of constituencies and we are going to have councillors representing each constituency, that is 50% of the councillors, and 50% will be done on a universal basis similar to how the Toshaos were elected recently,” Minister Lall said.

President Bharrat Jagdeo, on May 22, announced that government plans to take at least one of the four pieces of legislation, to Parliament on Thursday, May 28.

At the conference held at St. Ignatius, Region Nine, on May 22 and 23, Minister Lall told the Toshaos and other attendees that under the new Amerindian Act, Government has formalized and institutionalized the democratic organs within the communities, mainly the Village Councils which include Toshaos and Councillors.

Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai (standing), with Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Kellawan Lall (centre) and Region 9 Chairman, Clarindo Lucas.

He encouraged them to organise themselves to attain the level of the NDCs since this is necessary if they are to be part of the developmental process.

“Your Council is like the Government in your area; you have the authority to see to it that your area is developed in an orderly manner; you have the authority to see to it that the place is kept clean and healthy; that it is arranged in such a way that people can live and do their work in a very peaceful and quiet way; so in a sense, in Amerindian villages, although you are under a separate act, you are a part of the Governmental system in Guyana and under the constitution you are a part of a larger system. I think the Toshaos and Councils need to keep in close contact with the RDCs,” Minister Lall said.

He advised that all agencies executing work in Amerindian communities must make available to the councils the bills of quantities and the project documents.

“We should give some supervisory authority to the council to see to it that people who are doing work on behalf of the community, on behalf of the State, are doing it in the right manner, and the Toshaos and the Councillors must have a role to play in supervising these works.”

There will also be ongoing maintenance of schools and hospitals and health centers, he informed the leaders.

He briefed them about the world financial crisis and difficulties being faced by countries, including Guyana, and explained that whatever welfare benefits are given by Government, especially in health, housing and education, they must ensure that they are not eroded.

In this light, he explained that Government is looking at how it can attract more investments, including local ones.

He also referred to the plans by the Ministry of Agriculture to revamp the Region’s agriculture sector and provide extension officers to serve the community so that they can divert from traditional farming practices to utilise science and technology in their farming practices. This, he said, will guarantee that quality products will be produced and packaged for external markets.

He assured that in spite of the fact that the country welcomes investors, it will not allow them to conduct their economic ventures, such as farming, in a manner that will be detrimental to local farmers, investors would have to respect the country’s laws, people’s culture and traditions.

The Minister expressed concern over the manner in which people conduct economic activities in Amerindian communities. He said those persons sometimes take advantage of the resources , and little or no benefit is given to the residents of those communities.

The conference also addressed the cultural and traditional rights of Amerindians. Over 60 Amerindian Leaders from various villages and communities participated in sharing information.

Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai also addressed the leaders, and an interactive session was held among Toshaos, Village Councillors and other community leaders.

Presentations were made by Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) Justice Cecil Kennard and Dr. David Singh of Conservation International (CI) on the issues of law and order and climate change.