NTC will be fully engaged in revision of Amerindian Act – VP Jagdeo

The National Toshaos Council (NTC) will be completely engaged in all processes and consultations as the Government seeks to revise the Amerindian Act, according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.
Coming out of its manifesto in the 2020 General and Regional Elections, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had promised a review of the Amerindian Act after a process of extensive public consultations.
The Amerindian Affairs Ministry was tasked with formulating a framework through which those consultations would be facilitated. This will then be presented to the Cabinet for approval. Amid confusion regarding this process, it has been outlined that only after complete involvement with the NTC will the framework be submitted for perusal.
“They have had preliminary discussions. We intend to fully involve the National Toshaos Council in those discussions before that proposal goes to the Cabinet of Guyana, which is a proposal as to how the consultations will be done. We have already determined that it would have to be very widespread,” Jagdeo stated.
“There has been a lot of confusion, obviously because the Ministry held an engagement before the NTC about the revision of the Amerindian Act…and whether we have started that process.”

Less than two weeks ago, Attorney General Anil Nandlall pointed out that there are several important matters that loom large in the current legislation. He said they need to be clearly stated, so as to avoid any misinterpretations that can lead to conflicts. These include issues relating to mining activities and disputes.
“We have to frontally address that so that we don’t have the Chinese Landing-type fiasco ever erupting again. The reasons why there have been situations of conflict between the mining and the Amerindian community is because there are certain provisions of the Act that require clarity, and hopefully, during this informed process, those issues will be clarified and there will be clear lines of authority and functional responsibility demarcated, separating Amerindian interests from those of mining interests, because we have to find a manner of peaceful co-existence.”
In November 2022, the Amerindian Affairs Ministry in collaboration with the Legal Affairs Ministry, announced that it would establish a committee that will be responsible for consultations.
The committee would be responsible for making recommendations and engaging every single Amerindian community to solicit recommendations that will eventually make up the amended Amerindian Act. Some $10 million had already been earmarked by the Amerindian Affairs Ministry in 2022, to establish the committee, the modalities of the consultation process and the training of facilitators.