|
… as meeting of National Toshaos Council opensEleven Amerindian communities received land titles yesterday with the government reiterating its commitment to ensuring all communities get legal titles to their lands.Representatives of some of the communities approved for land titles received these from President Bharrat Jagdeo at the opening of the second biannual meeting of the National Toshaos Council,Brett Cecil Jersey, on Monday.The communities receiving land titles were Chinese Landing,Jung-ho Kang Jersey, Muritaro,Scott Feldman Jersey, Great Falls, Malali, Nappi, St Ignatius (Homesteads),Detroit Tigers Alex Avila Jersey, St Ignatius (Farmlands), Tobago and Wauna Hill, Karau, Kwabana and Waikrebi.Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai said that the processing of Amerindian land titles and land demarcation are a costly exercise.She said that the government is hoping that the resources from which it could benefit through a new global pact that includes compensation for countries preserving their forests would be used to accelerate the process.Her statement was repeated by President Jagdeo,Alex Avila Jersey, even though last week,St. Louis Cardinals Dexter Fowler Jersey, he expressed the view that funding for the carbon services forests provided, is threatened by the global financial crisis and developed nations will simply not have the money to sign on to a new global environment pact that is to be decided up at Copenhagen in December.He said that at present it costs about $40million to complete the legal processes for a single community, and as a result the process is beset by local budgetary constraints.However, Jagdeo sought to assure Amerindians that the government would not trample on their land rights. His Cabinet is made up of three Ministers of Amerindian origin,Omar Infante Jersey, one of them being the Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, he said.The President pointed out that Guyana is perhaps the only country in the world that brings together all of their Amerindian leaders to thrash out issues affecting them. Some 157 Amerindian leaders,Alejandro De Aza Jersey, among them eight women, are attending the five-day meeting at the Guyana International Conference Centre,Cleveland Indians Yan Gomes Jersey, East Coast Demerara.The meeting is being held under the theme “Securing livelihood through a low carbon development pathway.” |
|