A GINA Feature
They came from every corner of Guyana – from Barima in the north to Konashen in the south. They represented the Wai Wais, the Patamonas and the Wapishanas, and the other tribes that make the rugged and beautiful interior their home. They were the 157 democratically-elected toshaos of Guyana’s indigenous communities and they gathered for the third biennial National Toshaos Council (NTC) at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC) on July 27-31, to discuss a wide range of matters that are important to their people, and were met with open arms by President Bharrat Jagdeo and his Administration.

A section of the gathering at the National Toshaos Conference.

Gov’t commitment
Head of State Bharrat Jagdeo was among the many government officials who engaged in an interactive session with the community leaders.

“I don’t think that any other country in the whole world has ever assembled all of its elected leaders from the indigenous community to discuss affairs pertaining to their development,” President Jagdeo said.

He expressed the belief that such an achievement should be lauded and symbolizes the commitment of Government to strong democracy at the national and local levels.

Land titles
Eleven Amerindian communities received their land titles as Government continues to ensure that its indigenous people receive the rights to the lands that they have inhabited for generations.

President Bharrat Jagdeo with some of the Toshaos who received their land title certificates.

The titles were presented to the toshaos of Chinese Landing, Muritaro, Great Falls, Malali, Nappi, St Ignatius Homestead and St Ignatius Farmlands, Tobago and Wauna Hill, Karau, Kwebanna and Waikrebi.

The land title certificate is a legally binding document that follows the completion of a land demarcation process that specifies the location and boundary of a particular community.

“We will not rest until we have dealt with all of the Amerindian land issues. It was difficult in the initial period because many of the Amerindians were told different things, but now it’s moving faster,” President Jagdeo assured.

Government’s progress in titling lands has been ongoing for 10 years.

NTC Council
Twenty toshaos from the 10 administrative regions were elected before Amerindian Affairs Minister, Pauline Sukhai, to serve as the Executive of the National Toshaos Council (NTC).

Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai with newly elected executive members of the National Toshaos Council.

You are a legislative body. You also have specific functions and from those functions will emanate activities that will provide leadership and representation and work to establishing a strategic approach to supporting all the village councils,” Minister Sukhai told the newly-elected body.

The NTC is a constituted body of all Toshaos and Senior Councillors of Amerindian villages and the election of the executive members was done democratically.

The newly elected NTC was urged to work in partnership even though finance is limited in some areas. The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs will provide some financial assistance until that time when the NTC becomes an independent organization.

Interactions with Gov’t Ministers
Toshaos had the opportunity to interact with Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and other Ministers of Government.

Toshaos testing their all-terrain vehicles.

The Prime Minister, who has responsibility for mining, stressed that Government has taken the decision to desist from issuing mining claims on river and streams that bypass Amerindian territories, strengthening the communities’ control over their lands.

Communication, which remains difficult in the hinterland, is to receive a boost this year, Minister of Local Government Kellawan Lall stated. He explained that money has been budgeted this year to purchase and extend lines into far-off areas, and roads in the interior will be developed, improving accessibility to numerous communities.

Training was recognised as a major concern for communities and Minister of Labour Manzoor Nadir told those present that skills training is ongoing in several regions, with efforts being made to include Regions Eight and Nine.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport is engaged in a number of training programmes, and Amerindians were urged to take advantage of these as well.

The Ministry will be paying special attention to training youths from hinterland communities in various sporting activities, including football, volleyball and basketball.

Human Services and Social Security Minister Priya Manikchand educated the toshaos on public assistance, since many were unclear on the matter. She reminded them that public assistance is only for a six-month period to assist those in need until they can get back on their feet.

Minister of Education Shaik Baksh reassured toshaos that his Ministry continues to train persons in the field of teaching so that all schools throughout the country will have skilled and qualified teachers.

The tourism ministry is involved in hotel management training, and toshaos were encouraged to have the Amerindian population involved. “There is great scope for community-based tourism, like in Surama. As you know, recently Surama got the international prize for community-based tourism. We also have a tour guide training programme, not only in Georgetown but in the region. We’ve been speaking with toshaos from different villages to get involved in eco-tourism so that they can get developed like Surama,” Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Manniram Prashad encouraged.

While addressing the issue of water supply, Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali reassured Amerindians of his Ministry’s promise to bring water into every community. “The Government of Guyana regards the hinterland water supply as…very important. We have a specific strategy that is developed that is called the Hinterland Water Strategy. It has just been revised a few weeks ago.”

Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS)
On the penultimate day of the conference, President Jagdeo joined the toshaos again and discussed the LCDS, explaining that if their communities decide to opt into the programme, every cent earned from Amerindian lands will be given to these communities to pursue their economic and social development.

He explained that indigenous communities do not have to decide immediately to opt into the LCDS, as it will still be some time before the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012 and is replaced by the Copenhagen agreement that will be signed in December. However, he stressed that any decision on opting into the programme must be done at the community level with each member of the village being given a chance to participate.

Presidential grants
The President indicated that there is $234M in presidential grants for 2007-2009 available for distribution; $15M and $59M in grants outstanding for 2007 and 2008 respectively, and $160M has been put aside for grants this year.

The Presidential Grants programme provides communities with the financial resources necessary to fund projects that aim to provide the required services within their communities and help to make them more economically viable. The projects include productive and economic projects ranging from expansion of village farms, eco-lodges, building dams, clearing trails, providing kitchen facilities for school feeding programmes and cattle rearing.

The Ministry of Amerindian Affair monitors the progress of the projects and Community Development Officers oversee their execution.

Of the available grants, $18,294,690 was distributed to 18 communities for fishery, agricultural and poultry projects, the construction of a wharf and a guesthouse, and other initiatives decided by the villages.

Communication links
Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company’s Chief Executive Officer Joe Singh indicated that telephone services will reach Mabura Hill and its surrounding villages in September with the commissioning of a new cell tower location.

Additionally, Annai and Aishalton will get cell towers next year, and Paramakatoi and Kamarang have been targeted for LandSat facilities as regular microwave transmissions, which operate by line-of-sight principles, would be impossible in those mountainous regions.

Justices of Peace (JPs)
Ninety-four Amerindians were sworn in as Justices of Peace (JPs) in the presence of Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson and Minister Sukhai.

This initiative will ease the burden Amerindians have been facing over the years of having to travel to other communities in order to gain access to the services of JPs.

ATVs and radio sets
President Jagdeo’s commitment to provide indigenous villages with all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) took a step forward when Minister Sukhai handed over vehicles to the toshaos of Baramita, Kanapang, Kato, Kopinang, Kurukabaru, Bamboo Creek and Karasabai.

This would significantly improve transportation and economic activities in Regions One, Eight and Nine, with the seven new ATVs costing over $14M, and will add to the fleet of ATVs that have already been handed over prior to this year.

The Ministry of Health also presented radio sets to toshaos of Karaudaranau and Sand Creek, Region Nine, which will act as a form of communication in times of emergencies.

Amerindian communities are being transformed from traditional villages into modern communities capable of providing their residents with a standard of living that would please any Guyanese.
Government remains committed to this ideal and continues to work diligently to make it a reality.