‘This land now and forever will belong to you and your people’

‘This land now and forever will belong to you and your people’
– President Jagdeo tells Toshaos as seven Amerindian communities were
presented with legal land grants
Guyana Chronicle, 6 September 2007

SEVEN Amerindian communities in Guyana yesterday received their land
titles and titles of extension for the land they occupy from President
Bharrat Jagdeo at the Presidential Secretariat in Georgetown.

During the simple but very significant handing over ceremony, President
Jagdeo explained that this has been a commitment his administration
made to Guyana’s ‘First Peoples’ years ago and he is pleased that all
the efforts and hard work have bore fruits.

The Amerindian communities that were given legal land grants yesterday
are - Three Brothers Community in the Waini region, while extensions
were granted to Warapoka in Region One, Isseneru and Karrau in Region
Seven and Apoteri, Rewa and Crashwater in Region Nine.

Addressing Toshaos and Councillors of the various villages, President
Jagdeo explained that, “this is the culmination of a long process; it
is a process of struggle, disappointments and finally, I think we have
achieved something that would be of benefit of all the people of your
communities.”

The Guyanese Head of State noted that, “we are very pleased in Guyana
that we have a highly integrated society and that our indigenous
people, our Amerindian brothers and sisters are all part of an
integrated fashion in that society.”

The Head of State recalled that in the early 1990s, the Government
embarked on a policy aimed at ensuring people receive their titles and
reconnected to the land.

“We have an interest in cooperation and working with the community and
we made that clear in the beginning because the political will existed
in the PPP Government, so we have had a lot of engagements over the
years, over a decade of engagement at various levels…it was not just
the political will that existed, we have spent hundreds of millions of
dollars on the demarcation exercise, so we put resources into it (and)
this is why I am so pleased that we are seeing fruits of that effort.”

President Jagdeo also advised the Toshaos on making wise decisions on
the use of the resources in their respective communities.

“I hope that as society changes, you are careful about what kind of
arrangements you enter into for the use of the resources on the land
because you have all kinds of people who will come around and promise
everything under the sun,” he posited.

“Just be careful that these contracts you enter into are not at a
disadvantage of the community and ensure that resources that are
collected are spent in a transparent and broad based way so as to
develop or change the lives of the people who live in those areas,” he
asserted.

President Jagdeo also noted that the process does not end here, now
that the communities have been granted the title for their lands.

“We will come in to work with you now and in the future to ensure that
the lives of our Amerindian brothers and sisters are constantly
improved.”

In her remarks at the handing over ceremony, Amerindian Affairs
Minister, Ms. Carolyn Rodrigues, said that Government issued the first
set of land titles in February 2004, adding that it was a time when
consultations were ongoing on the new Amerindian Act.

“The issuance of titles for Konashen and Barameter in 2004 has
demonstrated our state of commitment in addressing Amerindian land
claims and the priority placed on examining and resolving these issues.
Just three years later, not only do we have an Amerindian Act that
includes the procedure for addressing land claims but we have also seen
that 17 communities have received titles for their land and seven have
received extension bringing the total communities with titled lands to
91.”

Repeating Government’s policy regarding Amerindian land issues, the
Minister stressed that the administration remains concerned about the
difficulties facing communities including land encroachment by miners
and loggers.

In many countries in South America, the Caribbean and Latin America,
Amerindians are not granted ownership of the land they occupy, but are
given leases in most instances.

However, the ‘Jagdeo administration’ wants to ensure that the
indigenous people enjoy rights just like other Guyanese and has been
granting them titles to the land they occupy for the past 14 years.

“We have increased the land owned by the Amerindians in just 14 years
from 6.5 percent to somewhere in the vicinity of 14 percent,” Minister
Rodrigues said. Today, Amerindians account for just over nine percent
of the population, owning about 14 percent of the national territory.

Before receiving the titles on behalf of their communities, the Toshaos
expressed gratitude to President Jagdeo, Minister Rodrigues and the
Government for making their dreams a reality.

Approximately 90 land titles have been issued over recent years and at
present titles are being processed for several others.

Land titles give Guyana’s First Peoples the rights to fish, farm and
hunt on the land as well as utilise timber on reserved lands and
occupancy rights. In addition, the forestry reserve under the sole
control of Amerindian communities is considerable, and if harvested
sustainably could support the indigenous people for generations.

They are also entitled to revenue from mining activities if these are
undertaken on Amerindian land.