…says leaders are too demanding, confrontational
The Government of Guyana on Wednesday accused the country’s independent National Toshaos Council (NTC) of disrespecting President David Granger as it launched a scathing attack on several vocal Indigenous representatives who were not towing the line but exposing serious malpractices of the current A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change Government.
In a scathing attack on the NTC and its Vice President, Lennox Shuman, the Indigenous People’s Affairs Ministry on Wednesday accused the Council of being confrontational, demanding and disrespectful in their writings to President David Granger.
The Ministry said it has observed a trend of public posturing by NTC executives and Shuman in particular, stating that the NTC executive has so far not distanced itself from what they described as rather divisive, disingenuous and sometimes incoherent statements being made by these officials.
“Simultaneous with calls for meetings with His Excellency President David Granger, Lennox Shuman, and Vice Chairman of the NTC issued a call for mass public protest against the Government by our Indigenous citizenry. The Ministry will allow the Guyanese public to judge Shuman’s intentions,” a statement said.
Further to that, the Ministry said it is aware of countless complaints of alleged disrespectful and inhumane treatment of the residents of St Cuthbert’s Mission by Shuman.
“The horrifying stories told by residents of this 129-year-old village of proud, mostly Lokonos, range from threats of dispossessing them of lands for disobeying Shuman to referring to residents as “refugees” as well as forcibly expelling church leaders from the village,” it claimed.
According to the statement, residents paint a picture of Shuman being a “leviathan Toshoa.” This, the Ministry said, is inconsistent with known and revered traditional leadership, love and respect for others. The Ministry described the NTC Vice Chairman as a “failed leader” who is now being rejected by his village.
“The Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs rejects the Shuman-led attack against Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples. The Ministry believes that the upcoming village elections provide a vehicle for the resolution of all of these issues by the people themselves…,” it added.
Now that the current NTC executive is nearing the end of its three-year term in office, the Ministry reminded that the Council is yet to explain to its membership and the Ministry why it continues to resist the legislative obligation of accounting for the finances placed at its disposal.
“This current NTC executive has never ceased to condemn the G$16 million subvention provided it by Government… It is a statutory obligation of the NTC’s executive committee to prepare and present ‘annual reports’ of its financial operations, a requirement which it has never satisfied,” it explained.
Meanwhile, the Ministry also accused the Chairman and Vice Chairman for not addressing ‘opposition political interference’ into the affairs of the NTC. While claiming that it was not unexpected, the Ministry said it remains clear that the ill effects of political domination will take some more time to undo.
When contacted for a comment on Wednesday, Shuman said he was in his village and could not comment on the matter unless he reads the statement in its entirety. The NTC Vice Chairman said he would also like to be given sometime to ‘digest’ what was written about him. He said he may respond Friday.
