Linden situation taking heavy toll on hinterland regions

- Toshaos call for expeditious actions

Georgetown, GINA, August 6, 2012

Outgoing Chairperson of the National Toshaos Council (NTC), Yvonne Pearson this afternoon presented the final report of the 2011 NTC conference, which served to enlighten the newly-elected leaders at this year’s conference on some of the issues raised and achievements made by their predecessors.

Amerindian leaders who sit on the Indigenous Peoples Commission (IPC) were introduced to the new toshaos. Pearson explained that these persons, which included herself, Marco De Souza and Doreen Jacobis, were nominated and elected through a democratic process to represent the interest of Amerindians and urged them to use this opportunity to interface with these representatives on matters of importance to them.

Outgoing Chairperson of the National Toshaos Council (NTC), Yvonne Pearson presenting final report of the 2011 NTC Conference 

She lamented that many leaders are still not fully knowledgeable of the provisions outlined in the Amerindian Act of 2006 and reminded leaders that this piece of legislation set out the guidelines within which villages must function.

Pearson noted that when toshaos have a better understanding of the Act, governance at the village level will be greatly strengthened, as this is still a sore point for many villages.

Leaders expressed their disappointment at the fact that the funds that were paid to Guyana by Norway for forest services have not yet been released by the World Bank.
She explained that their villages and people have a lot of needs that these funds could be used to address, rather than it sitting in a bank account.

Toshaos, particularly those from Regions Eight and Nine complained bitterly of the effects of the Linden unrest on economic activities in their villages. In Region Nine, residents are forced to purchase fuel from Brazil, which is more expensive.

Chairperson of the Indigenous Peoples Commission (IPC), Doreen Jacobis making her contribution at the NTC conference at the Guyana International Conference Center (GICC), Liliendaal

One toshao reported that businesses in his community will be forced to send home workers if the situation persists. They also recalled their difficult journey to Georgetown, where despite being escorted by police ranks, they could not have come to Region Four via Linden.

Toshaos were forced to divert to Rockstone to the Sharima Landing and subsequently back to Bartica in order to reach the City. They expressed anger over the situation as they had to be escorted through their own country and reiterated their call to those responsible to resolve the situation expeditiously.

Amerindian leaders at the National Toshaos Conference 2012

The session closed with leaders discussing the adoption of two resolutions. The first, calls for speedy solution to the Linden issue and the second, for approval for the draft ‘Opt-in Mechanism’, which paves the way for widespread discussions and consultations on the said draft.

Once villages would have made their input, the draft will be restructured to serve as a general guide for villages to opt in and be part of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).