APA wants new administration to finalize Amerindian land titling initiative

Aug 13, 2020 News

Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai

Executive Director of the APA, Jean La Rose

The Amerindian People’s Association (APA) is hoping for the government of Guyana to bring closure to the now seven-year-old Amerindian Land Titling and Demarcation Project
In an interview with Kaieteur News last Sunday, Executive Director of the APA, Jean La Rose stated that the organization would like to see the remainder of the project, which started in 2013, properly planned and executed by the new People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration.
La Rose accentuated the importance of the relevant officials having outreaches in Amerindian communities and communicating accurate information. She stated that the purpose of the outreach was to hear the needs of the villagers so that their requests can be reviewed and possibly granted. The APA leader maintained that the officials conducting these outreaches needed to make written reports because they would often report information that contradicts the wishes of the people to their respective centres. She further stated that the demarcation process in a lot of Amerindian communities saw issues because the lands were being occupied by third party hosts. La Rose gave example by highlighting that many communities saw disputes with lands that were supposed to be titled being awarded as mining blocks. She emphasized the importance of proper consultations being conducted to ensure situations like the previously mentioned do not occur under the new administration.
The Amerindian Land Titling and Demarcation Project, which sought to secure lands and natural resources for Amerindians, began under the previous PPP/C administration in 2013 funded by $2.2 Billion (US$11M) support from the United Nations Development Programme. The project ended in 2016, one year into the A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance for Change Coalition (APNU+AFC) administration; however, many communities were not selected for their land titling. The new government sought to extend the initiative, and $165 million was then designated to ensuring the remaining villages received their land titling. However, by the end of 2019 still many of the remaining villages still did not receive their titles. Additionally, many villagers had protested the long wait for their land titles and lamented that the government had had a reasonable amount of time to ensure the project’s completion. Some villagers had also claimed that there was heavy mismanagement of the funds, although this was never proven.
Last year, the previous Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Sydney Allicock had announced that the project would be prolonged once more up to 2021. According to Allicock, that would have given ample time to complete the project. La Rose had previously stated that it was halted due to the no-confidence motion being passed in December 2018.
Newly-appointed Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai had last week said that the administration is committed to ensuring the remainder of the project is completed by the 2021 deadline. Sukhai stated that she is determined to see that these land issues are resolved and sustainable development strategies are implemented in indigenous communities.