Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock has said that more work needs to be done before certificates of title are finally handed over to ten indigenous communities.
The disclosure by Allicock comes several weeks after the certificates were set to be have been handed over to the communities, which were expected to receive the titles at the conclusion of the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference that was held in August.
The communities identified to receive the titles are Yakarinta and Rupunau in Region 9; Taruka, Tuseneng and Karisparu in Region 8; Baramita and Kariako in Region 1; and Chinowieng, Kato and Batavia in Region 7.
However, several delays have occurred since then. When asked about the reason for the delay in the delivery of the certificates, Allicock told Stabroek News last week that there was more work to be done before the certificates of titles can be delivered. Though he did not expound on what the “work” entailed, the Minister said that the planning process had to include an engagement between the ministry and the NTC.
The delay in the delivery of land titles was one of several issues relating to the titling of Indigenous lands that was the subject of intense debate during the Toshaos Council Conference.
It was not long after the conclusion of the NTC conference that Allicock had announced government’s decision to budget for the titling of 30 more indigenous communities. The announcement came even as government sought to negotiate a four-year extension of the present project demarcation and titling project, funded through the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF), which ends next month.
The US$10.7M land titling project seeks to enable Indigenous people to secure their lands and natural resources with a view towards sustainable social and economic development. The project, which began in October, 2013 under the former PPP/C administration, has managed to demarcate only a quarter of the 68 villages it was supposed to complete.
“If we don’t get the funding needed, we would have enough funding (from 2017) to hopefully do another 30 communities for 2017,” Allicock told the Guyana Information Agency (GINA).
Once the money is sourced, Allicock said that it will be used to acquire aerial videography services, which will speed up the demarcation of boundaries in the communities.
A proposal from Black Field Survey Area Incorporated for a 50 percent discount to the government for conducting the land survey for the demarcation project was also discussed, and is one that the Minister sees as feasible since it will speed up the demarcation process, GINA said.
According to Allicock, the company did a survey in St. Cuthbert’s Mission and was able to collect findings within four days. “This will help us in the areas of overlapping communities or if there is doubt where miners are concerned, if they are intruding, that sort of technology, with the drone, it will show you what is happening,” Allicock said.
“This will complement what the surveyors are doing. It would be easier for them to now go on the ground to have their GPS reading, and put their plots or reference points,” he added.
