With climate change a growing concern, especially following the devastating floods that heavily impacted Region Seven, the Upper Mazaruni District Council (UMDC) has repeated its call for their land rights to be legally recognised.
It has been 23 years since the Indigenous peoples of the Upper Mazaruni filed a court action against the Government of Guyana, seeking legal recognition to their traditional and ancestral lands.
To date, the Court is yet to make a decision on the matter. Chairman of the UMDC and Toshao of Kato, Mario Hastings, told a press conference yesterday that it has been over two years since the matter was last called in the courts, adding that that no substantial reason was given as they were told that the delay is due to a backlog of cases.