Dear Editor,
Santa Rosa, Moruca was established circa 1823, making it amongst the oldest colonial Indigenous community in Guyana with over 200 years of existence. This community and its outlying areas is also home to over 12, 000 people who are mainly from the Arawak/ Lokono, Karina/ Carib and Warao Peoples, besides a rising number of Boaviandas and other mixtures. For many decades, Santa Rosa was governed by a community leader, called a Captain, but over the years this title changed to Toshao. This village leader and his or her team of councilors used to govern the affairs of the community, with residents’ active participation and dialogue with outside stakeholders. However, Moruca has since grown over the years, both in population and advancement in terms of physical infrastructure, local entrepreneurs and other material developments that the modern world presents. These and other outside influences generated inevitable transformations and challenges to the local leadership. As such, one sector that is continuously under pressure from outside influence in recent years happens to be the Village Council, the body that governs the fastest growing In-digenous voting demographic in Guyana.
Editor, in this new development I perceive an ambiguity in leadership behaviours occurring in Santa Rosa where the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region One is most times infiltrating into the affairs of the local village council. It [RDC] executes government funded community projects that are welcomed by all, but in the process, the Village Council becomes subordinated to the sub-regional authorities, where little or no consultation and approval from villagers taken in to account. Under such leadership crises, the question arises as to how can the Santa Rosa Village Council dialogue and execute projects efficiently with the RDC and others without the latter dominating? While the RDC should be applauded for providing services in ‘collaboration’ with the Santa Rosa Village Council for the residents, the flipside is that the RDC infiltrates village elections and choose Toshaos who are party members and puppets to perform as square pegs in round holes, which is not good for effective governance for such a big community.
In conclusion, what irritates me is that most villagers at Santa Rosa are aware of the corruption scandals and nepotism etc., occurring at the Moruca Village Council and the local sub-regional administration but choose to remain silent. Villagers seem to be appeased by government cash grants and handouts, thus accepting things as they are. Nevertheless, it was good to see a small group of brave residents recently demonstrating and picketing the Village Office.
This spirit of militancy should be encouraged to denounce corruption and root out bad leadership in Santa Rosa, so that the community develops on the founding principles of villagers’ involvement, mutual dialogue with outside stakeholders, accountability and good governance; leadership qualities that the great Stephen Campbell stood for!
Sincerely,
(Name and Address Provided)
