Here in Santa Rosa Village, there is something known as a presidential grant. It appears as though this grant is approved by the President in November each year and can be uplifted from the offices of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs towards the beginning of the following year onwards.
It is not known, however, if this grant is only limited to the village council of this village, or whether all village councils and other groups can access such grants as well. What is known is that the village council is the authorized body for the collection of this grant from the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs. In so doing, it is required that the village council have a project proposal complete with estimates in order to qualify for the grant.
Owing to this project proposal requirement, it is important that the Toshao and councillors talk about it with the residents of the village. During 2008 such talks were held at some of our village general meetings. In recognizing the rapid population growth of our village, it was decided that since this had always been the dream of many, that a modern market was an essential thing and that the grant would be channelled towards that purpose. Further, that although the grant cannot in itself totally build this facility, it would at least set the groundwork for it.
These decisions among others were made under a previous council. However, most of those councillors are now sitting on the present council, including the former Toshao and Secretary.
In addition to that, when the present council met with the general public on July 12, 2009, these decisions were not only relayed, but were also read from the minutes of previous meetings.
Now disappointingly, during the month of December, it was alleged that councillors would now have to travel to Georgetown to uplift parts of the grant individually from the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.
This raises the question as to whether making collective decisions is really a waste of time since it would appear as though these decisions can be easily over-ruled. It would also appear as though the presidential grant is not really the property of the village, because if this was the case, the money would be transferred directly into the council’s bank account.
It was expected that the entire village council would uphold and defend all decisions that were made, particularly at our village general meetings. After all, there are such provisions in the Amerindian Act, a legal document whose amendments were carried out entirely by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.
It is also recognized that the village council is the legally elected representative body of the people. It is further expected, therefore, that representing, recognizing and respecting their rights, interests and wishes should be a priority. This will help trust and confidence to prevail and encourage mutual respect between the council and the people who elected them to office.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
