Dear Editor,
In a letter published in the Stabroek News, the Vice Chair of the National Toshaos’ Council (NTC), Mr Lenox Shuman, lamented that not enough funding is provided by the Government for the NTC to execute its mandate and also that there is some level of political interference with the workings of the body. He mentioned that one Government official declared that he does not respect 20 people taking decisions for the Indigenous people in over 200 communities, despite the fact that those 20 people were elected to do just that.
Mr Shuman wrote about resolutions of the August 2015 conference of NTC, including revision of the Amerindian Act 2006. He emphasized that land issues are of utmost importance. Whilst Indigenous peoples view this as a burning issue, the issue of curtailing Ministerial powers in any revision of relevant law is equally important if Village Councils and the NTC are to be free of political interference. In any event the revision of the Act makes no sense if the Government is prepared to overlook it in governance of the Indigenous people, and the people themselves have no desire to have it enforced and live by it. If the Government does not respect the Amerindian Act, it is obvious that it does not respect the people associated with it.
I agree with most of the resolutions coming out of the NTC Conference, but I must remind the NTC that, compared to land issues, there are more pressing hardships that Indigenous people have to endure. One case in point is the Amerindian Hostel in Georgetown, where pregnant mothers have to share beds with HIV, tuberculosis and malaria patients. This reflects deplorable conditions at hostels across the country.
The functions of the NTC as laid out in the Amerindian Act are basically to support the functions of the Village Councils. In effect there is no compelling need for such a body. In fact the NTC has not contributed in any positive way to the real development of the Indigenous people since its introduction. The 38 million dollars that the NTC budgeted to carry out its mandate, or the 12 million dollars it has been provided on paper, should be spent on more practical issues affecting the Amerindian members of the Guyanese nation.
To put things into perspective, I must remind Mr Shuman that all Village Councils and Toshaos, along with the NTC elected by the latter, are presently holding office illegally because most of the stipulations of the Amerindian Act 2006, Chapter 29.01 of the Laws of Guyana, regarding elections were not followed in the last Village Council elections. This means the Government is not legally obliged to provide any support to the NTC, and does not necessarily have to respect its decisions if they do not conform to party-political directives.
Yours faithfully,
Patrick Fitzpatrick
