Tomorrow, Guyana is slated to host its National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference under the theme, ‘Robust governance for sustainable village development’.
Over 200 leaders from Guyana’s Nine Amerindian Tribes will represent their communities in discussing the way forward for these people concerning their growth and development, and mitigating the threats to their collective interests.
They will also have President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali; Prime Minister Brigadier Mark Phillips, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo and the entire Cabinet of Ministers at their disposal to sort out issues and get resolutions on important matters that are ebbing away slowly at their forward movement.
Apart from the ministers, the Amerindian leaders will have sessions with public officials from a wide spectrum of the public sector to address specific matters.
This year’s theme is both unique and appropriate because it not only provides the opportunity for Amerindians to assess the effectiveness of governance structures in their villages but to take stock of their development while at the same time thinking and planning.
Realistically speaking, there will be usual drama that is instigated by the opposition political actors, and the politicians from particularly the APNU/AFC. They are expected to highlight conditions under which the Toshaos are housed, their alleged lack of freedom to associate with the political parties of their choice while attending the conference, the individual issues that some communities have, and the list goes on. The opposition politicians can pull any of their tricks out of the bag.
After all, Mervyn Williams, Dawn Hastings-Williams, the Amerindian People’s Association, PNC, APNU, AFC, and other personalities are known for playing opportune politics. They will say, there has been no development or not enough growth regarding Amerindian development under the current PPP Government.
They will say the government is corrupt and lacks transparency and accountability for the money they are spending in the communities, whether it be taxpayers’ funds or Carbon Credit funds that Guyana earned.
Expect some Toshaos to already have a plan to disrupt and cause controversy throughout the week, because that is the plan to paint the government bad at any cost, because this is an election year and they need the votes of the Amerindians to defeat the government.
But the problem with this group of people is they are not willing to work for their votes. The opposition is not willing to labour hard and come up with their own policies, plans, and strategies for Amerindian development and growth.
They are comfortable with piggy backing and criticising this government for doing their lot for Amerindians while they sit and fiddle their thumbs, talking a whole variety of nonsense, untrue and distorted facts about the Amerindian and Indigenous Peoples’ stories.
There are communities which the opposition does not venture into to listen to the views of their Amerindian brothers and sisters. They only want to sit at Sophia and Kitty, Georgetown and make decisions for Amerindian people hundreds of miles away.
They are not representing the views of these people because they do not see their stories of defeat, struggle and success. The opposition leader is busy waxing words to put a lyrical spin on what is happening in Amerindian villages, but would only go into his stronghold villages to campaign for election.
The APNU/AFC does not care about Amerindians. They only care about capturing the votes and then discarding the leaders and communities for an entire four and a half years, as demonstrated from their track record when they were in office from May 2015 to August 2020.
They don’t care about jobs or Amerindian livelihoods, or they would never send home over 2,000 CSO and abandon the land titling programme. During this period, there was a total of four ministers who were of Amerindian ancestry, and yet the problems, issues and state of the Amerindian and Indigenous People here left much to be desired and were poor and deteriorating rapidly.
The conference was a talk show and hardly any progress was made. It is widely believed that Amerindian development declined about 40 per cent during this period, but the ministers continued to experience the ‘good life’ while Amerindians had to beg, along with much of the population, for crumbs.
But the conference taking place since the return of the PPP/C administration is indicative of a government serious about the people, particularly Amerindians and their development. This government appears to have a consultative approach to development, allowing Amerindians and Indigenous Peoples to have a voice and strong say in their development.
This government prefers to give the resources and provide the fiscal and technical support needed to guide Amerindians towards prosperity, home and land ownership, poverty reduction, and sustainability.
This year, the government budgeted a whopping $7.2 billion to spend on Amerindian development, focusing on land titling, youth entrepreneurship, sustainable livelihoods and education.
Programmes like the youth, infrastructure, economic projects, and ecotourism within Amerindian communities, along with initiatives like the Amerindian Development Fund, Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme ($1.5 billion) are supported by this funding. They will aim to empower young Amerindians in various fields.
With $800M allocated in 2024 for Amerindian land titling, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs allocated a whopping eight more titles, bringing the total to 21 titles handed out since the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government took office in 2020. The media reported that “along with the completion of the rigorous processes involved in this exercise, two Certificates of Title were granted; six absolute grants and seven demarcations were also done”.
The journey to prosperity continues for Amerindians with the allocation of $650 million to accelerate the titling and demarcation of Amerindian lands, which currently make up 16.4% of Guyana’s landmass.
This, of course, is not all. $127 million is dedicated to assisting 800 hinterland youths in pursuing secondary education, with $93 million for the hinterland scholarship programme while $5 billion is earmarked for various economic, ecotourism, agricultural, and infrastructure projects within Amerindian communities. Many communities have already started benefitting from various projects and proposals in various areas.
It is important to mention, under the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF), over 800 sustainable projects in Amerindian and riverine villages, covering areas like youth development, forestry, agriculture, tourism, and income-generating ventures. 500 or more projects are suspected to be done or are ongoing.
So many other initiatives and policies deal with this group of people that are worthy of mention because they are impacting the lives of Amerindians in a way that has never been seen. For example, the presidential and ‘Because We Care’ Cash Grants are impacting the lives of Amerindians.
Ulene Jeffrey, one of the beneficiaries from Region One, noted that she will utilise a portion of the money to pay her medical bills. “I am feeling better now that I get this cash grant. I can now go back to the hospital to get my spectacles,” she told the Department of Public Information (DPI).
Similarly, overcome with emotion, Lizz Marshall welcomed the timely disbursement of the grant, noting that it will be used to purchase groceries and other essentials for her four kids. She spoke about the challenges her family encounters at times since the father of her kids died about four months ago.
“We have to do a lot of things with this money. There is nobody to help us. I am glad that I got this help,” she added.
This is real growth, sustainability and development. This is the journey to prosperity that PPPC has Amerindians and Indigenous people walking briskly towards. This is the plan that was designed by the Amerindian people for the Amerindian people with the government’s help and resources.
There is a saying that ‘to whom much is given, much is required’. This is to say that the participants of the conference deliberate and dialogue with the government in good faith. It appears to be a partner and stakeholder that is serious about the development and growth of Amerindians and the country as a whole. Demand transparency, accountability and good governance where it is lacking.
Read the room and stay alert throughout the conference. Be on the lookout for political opportunists, there will be many. Do not allow oneself to be used for their cheap political narratives. Stand by the government, if you so please, that has had the backs of the Amerindian people throughout successive PPP/C governments. Stay the course because the journey to prosperity continues.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.