Having declared the recently-concluded National Toshaos Council (NTC) conference a success, Chair of the NTC Toshao Joel Fredricks says that the body has been given insight into the level work that must be done in addressing issues facing the Indigenous Peoples of Guyana.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday in the boardroom of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Fredericks described this year’s conference as one of “great significant change,” since it was the first time since the establishment of the NTC that the members were allowed to chair the annual event.
“This conference, this year, was a conference of great significant change…it is the first time in history that the NTC has chaired their own conference…for many years, the NTC has been building capacity and here we have been given the chance to demonstrate what we have learnt from attending different workshops,” the Chairman said.
Although time constraints posed a challenge during the conference, Fredricks stated that out of 212 plus indigenous leaders, at least 80% of the participants had an opportunity to express themselves.
And while many issues were raised during the conference, the Chairman pinpointed the longstanding issues surrounding land titling and the Amerindian Act of 2006 as the most debated ones among the leaders. This being said, Fredricks renewed his call for government to speedily address those issues. “This is a burning issue that needs to be addressed; the previous administration did some work on it, yes, but I felt they could have done more and I would like to caution this administration to take a different approach, a more [speedy] approach in addressing these issues,” the Chairman said as he spoke of land titling.
Additionally, he asked that the NTC be able to work along with the Ministry of Natural Resources in addressing the issues of mining and its physical effect on the Indigenous communities across Guyana’s Hinterland.
“The NTC would like to sit with the Ministry and other stakeholders and see how we can address these mining issues…. When you go to these villages that are threatened by mining, its heart breaking because at the end of all the mining activities, when the miners have extracted the gold and other minerals, indigenous peoples remain there to live and the conditions they live in are not made better, they are worse,” he said.
Fredricks also reiterated the importance of establishing a Secretariat and ensuring an increased subvention in order for the NTC to efficiently carry out its mandate.
Alluding to the president’s promise to have the request to establish a secretariat considered at the level of Cabinet, Fredricks said the NTC looks forward to a positive response in the near future.
Commenting on the revision of the Amerindian Act of 2006, Vice-Chairman of the NTC Toshao Lenox Shuman stated that the legal revision of the Act must take a comprehensive approach, while emphasising the need for this specific piece of legislation to be strengthened.
In summation, Fredricks said the conference gave the NTC an opportunity to make an assessment of who they are, where they’re at and where they’re going with regards to their work as a representative body as the issues faced by the indigenous peoples.
“We may not be able to address all of the issues but we want to lay a solid foundation for our leaders who will come after us because we recognise that government comes and government goes but the NTC will always be here to rep the indigenous people,” he said.
‘Sober and real’
Also attending the press conference was Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock, who urged the NTC to think outside the box in its approach as a representative body for the Indigenous Peoples.
“What we would like to see is us moving away from the ‘dependency syndrome,’ where everything is about a handout; when you work and you sweat for what you need, you have more value for it. If you travel across the country, you see expensive machines like tractors, buses, outboard engines, boats damaged and parked. They can be repaired but there is no money to repair it and it is because there was not a system in place of maintenance or growth of the economy of the community,” the Minister said.
“We are investing and so we would want to see results; what you hear in some communities is that the government is going to give us another one or else we ain’ voting for them. We have to change that mentality, we need to be able to put some value into ourselves…,” he added.
In the meantime, Allicock noted that while his Ministry is prepared to give the necessary support, the NTC must be “sober and real” in its efforts to resolve the challenges presented to it.
He said, “We must make that effort to put a helping hand and not just sit down and decry everything, we must be able to come up with solutions. For one bag of problems, walk with another bag of possible solutions so that we can work together and move forward.”
Additionally, he urged the NTC to seriously consider President David Granger’s proposal for the establishment of the National Indigenous Peoples’ Authority as an opportunity to build its support system as an organisation.
“A proposal was made by the President and it is one that would help in the whole process of getting things right in the land, in the economy, and in the Ministry in coming up with legislation that would help us to get where we want to go and we shouldn’t lose this opportunity. I don’t want us to feel that we don’t like what you are doing, like you said, this is all about working together…unity is strength,” he said.
However, Shuman when asked about the proposal, explained that the NTC has not yet had a chance to discuss it as an executive body but will be engaging communities to hear their thought on the establishment of such a body. “The decisions we make as the NTC affects so many lives, maybe not so much as the national government, but we represent a large number of indigenous peoples. After getting the chance to chance to discuss, we will be in a better position to answer that question,” the Vice-Chairman said.
