The Government is focusing on restoring proper management and account-ability for resources at the level of the Amerindian Village Council.
Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai said that the intention is to ensure that village funds are used optimally for village development.
A release yesterday from her Ministry said that Sukhai was speaking during an outreach along the Pomeroon River, Region Two, where she engaged village leaders of Akawini, Wakapoa, Karawab, St Monica, and Kabakaburi.
She was accompanied, by Parliamentary Secretary Sarah Browne, Permanent Secretary Sharon Hicks, and Region Two’s Chair-man, Vilma De Silva.
Sukhai said that when the Administration took office, it found an “alarm-ing number of cases of misappropriation of village funds by Village Councils due to a lack of account-ability, as well as mis-management of village assets”.
She added “I have only been in office for about three months now and on my desk, there are a lot of complaints from villagers about the performance of the village council and specifically about the performance of many Toshaos. These issues are not new, but the amount is of concern. We now expect village councils will get back on track with the management and account-ability of the village resources.”
Sukhai asserted that this can only be achieved if the Village Council “works in collaboration with the Ministry”, the release said. Funds will be set aside in the 2021 national budget to facilitate more monitoring and to provide technical support to village leaders in that regard, Sukhai added.
