The riverine communities of Orealla and Siparuta on Wednesday elected Laurence Vandenburg, a 26-year-old teacher to be their new Toshao and he hopes to turn the village into a model for other Amerindian villages by properly managing and utilizing the finance and resources available.
Vandenburg, originally of Orealla, managed to secure 206 votes ahead of former Toshao, Lewis Devair who got 153 votes.
In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Stabroek, Vandenburg explained that he has lived in the village most of his life except for when he was away studying and so he would have seen first-hand the outcry from residents “especially when it comes to the financial matters of the village.”
He stated, “Knowing that Orealla has the potential to develop into a model community and it hasn’t been happening so looking at that and knowing that this village can be transformed with good leadership” he decided to throw his hat into the ring to become the Toshao.
He pointed out that he has always thought to himself that with all the resources Orealla has “and all the money once systems can be put in place then it can become a model Amerindian village.”
In terms of long-term goals for the riverine communities, the new Toshao said that he is hopeful that they can operate their own sand business, and procure their equipment to load and transport the sand, as well as the necessary equipment for the ongoing lumber business. “Logging has been going on for a number of years but yet we still don’t have any transport vessel, we just selling and then going back to work.”
“We have to train our people right and manage things properly so we can be able to develop our village… It will be nice for us too, our students who finish high school to send them to UG (University of Guyana) without having them worry about tuition, make life easier for our residents altogether.”
Turning to his short-term plans, Vandenburg explained that the village office needs to be rehabilitated and there is a need to construct a storage facility to house the council’s assets. Additionally, he said, there is a need for a bridge to be constructed at one location within the village as well.
Importantly, he noted, that they will be looking at ways in which they can transform the village’s water system. “Looking at different ways to solve the problem, where water takes long to meet people at the far end so we are trying to look into that system how we can solve it.”
According to Vanden-burg, Guyana Water Inc (GWI) will soon be visiting the community to set up a tank on the hill – a plan inherited from the previous council. “We will look at how that will work out, if it does not work we will have to try something else. That was in place, if it works it works, if not we will try something else.”
Further, he stressed that the electricity situation in the villages is another major concern as the council is currently operating at a loss.
Explaining the situation, the new Toshao said, that the government through the Regional Democratic of Region Six assists with three barrels of fuel, however, they are burning about 12 barrels per month for about $600,000, “We don’t make any profit from that, burning a lot of fuel, the profits are low.”
“We will be looking at how to rectify the system, we are operating at a loss.”
Additionally, Vanden-burg explained that they will also be looking to have barges measured. He said, next week the two councils will be meeting to discuss the business of Orealla and Siparuta. “We will execute the plans that we have.”
“Right now a total of 5 barges are operating with two main buyers, but it has been 500 a ton for the last three years with all the development that’s happening we will be looking at increasing the price.”
Going into a bit about himself, Vandenburg revealed that he grew up in Orealla after which he went out to the coast to attend high school where he gained passes of Grades 1- 3 in ten subjects. He has also participated in several training and volunteer programmes connected to his church.
He said, that although he knew he had support it was somewhat of a surprise to see how many residents cast their vote in his favour. “I want to thank them for supporting me and believing in me. As humans, we fail from time to time but I will try to lead in the right way and I look forward to their support.”
Meanwhile, Vandenburg is hopeful that he can have fruitful meetings with representatives of the government so that a council led by him can embark on community projects in collaboration with the government.
“We will continue to work with the government, with the money coming in, like the government taking up their responsibility before any project comes online our people must be well informed, and we look forward to having a partnership with them.”
