Dear Editor,
I wish to support the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs in disputing allegations by Region 7 Toshaos.
This is a tragic affair for some Indigenous leaders of Region 7, I am surprised that three years after the LCDS consultations and at every National Toshaos Conference (NTC) thereafter, leaders of Indigenous communities continue to maintain that LCDS consultations were inadequate. I ask, were the consultations inadequate or did the leaders fail to disseminate the information? I recall that at every NTC conference since the launching of the Low Carbon Development Strategy in 2009, except that of 2012, the LCDS booklet and other information were distributed to every Toshao along with council representatives. Even so, at the 2012 conference there was an LCDS information desk where information was readily available. So, in reality planners again skilfully engaged the Toshaos and Village Councillors through an information desk with the expectation that they would complete the consultation process by having this information filtered down to the communities. Did the Toshaos and councillors complete that mandate?
Far from the alleged inadequate consultation process on LCDS, I am in possession of evidence that indicates the opposite. However, the argument by some individuals and organisations who suggest that the LCDS support documents should have been available in traditional languages are not visualising the implications that this would have caused to the consultation process. Over 95 % of Indigenous peoples will not be able to read their own language if it is written, printed and available for reading. About 75% of the Amerindian languages are not taught in schools. So the argument that the LCDS consultations must have a written traditional language component to make them effective and better understood will undermine the process. Although I would like to see our traditional languages used to educate and inform the Indigenous population, it is far from reality.
Because of these constraints, Indigenous experts whose input into the design of the LCDS consultation process suggested the engagement of interpreters and local scribes, the spoken language remained dominant and it was expected to enhance clarity and comprehension, particularly for senior citizens, who were the primary target of the consultations.
So, it is disappointing to hear statements from the leaders of Region 7 saying they did not have enough consultations on the LCDS. The re-election or electing of new Toshaos does not eliminate the national response by the government.
Further, because of similar claims of not being adequately consulted by these same communities, immediate action was taken by the National Amerindian Development Foundation (NADF), the Guyanese Organisa-tion of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP) and the Amerindian Action Movement Of Guyana (TAAMOG) in collaboration with the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) to remedy the situation. Records show that Paruima, Warama-dong, Warwatta, Kako and Jawalla were the major beneficiaries.
Yours faithfully,
Ashton Simon
President
National Amerindian
Development Foundation
