NTC Chairman lauds Gov’t for bettering lives of Amerindians – urges toshaos to practice accountability
Written by Gina Webmasters, Published in News, Georgetown, GINA, October 29, 2014, Source - GINA
Some of the Amerindian leaders who are participating in the National Toshaos’ Council meeting
Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Derrick John today spoke of the progress that has been made over the past two decades, and highlighted that the 2014 NTC meeting is yet another manifestation of development.
“We can come together under one roof to share our experiences and challenges and here we are this day, in this highest forum of our country to interact with His Excellency and other stakeholders,” John told over 200 Amerindian Leaders gathered at the Guyana International Conference Centre for the NTC meeting.
Referring to the theme “Harnessing the power of our leadership” John said it comes at a very appropriate time in the country’s history.
“When we look around us today, indeed our people here are among people of great minds, people are here who have dedicated themselves towards the betterment of their communities and villages and the country at large.”
For this, John took the opportunity to thank the Government for making this year’s conference a reality, since at the beginning of the year he noted the Amerindian community had doubts. John noted that, owing to the commitment of the administration the conference has materialised.
“As we look at our theme this year, I want to stress on a couple of key things as leaders. I know that we have come a long way and it will take a lot of sacrifice, commitment and dedication as we lead our people.”
He noted that even with the challenges leaders face, they need to be strong and demonstrate the characteristics of good community leaders.
John underscored the importance of honesty in leadership which he noted is essential to any society.
Chairman of the National Toshaos Council, Dereck John during his address to fellow Amerindian leaders during the opening ceremony of the NTC 2014 meeting
“I know we have all portrayed that honesty is a vital character trait for us, our people have confidence in us, and they believe in us, and we have to show that their choice of putting us where we are was not the wrong choice.”
He encouraged his fellow leaders to practice accountability, as it will earn respect from the people they lead.
“Indeed the Government has invested a lot of resources in our communities, and they will continue to invest and we have to work in partnership, we are the guardians of these resources, so I want to encourage you my fellow Toshaos, that we continue to demonstrate strong leadership in being transparent and accountable to our people and the Government at large.”
The NTC Chairman also reminded his colleagues the importance of humility and commitment as these too he said are vital to good leadership.
“So there are times in our life that we will make mistakes and when we do make mistakes, we have to be humble enough to take advice and listen to our people,” the NTC Head said.
“I know that we all have been doing this, but I want to encourage you to continue. We also need to focus on being committed to our community, people, and country.”
While acknowledging the fact that as leaders there will be a lot of challenges, John encouraged them to remain committed as there is always “The silver lining behind the dark cloud.”
The NTC Chairman further lauded the administration for the several new initiatives from which they have been benefitting.
“Mr. President, I want to say thank you again, more so I want to say a big thank you on the behalf of the indigenous people and Guyana at large, you have introduced the ‘Because we care’ initiative.”
This, John said, is yet another demonstration of the administration’s commitment to serve its people.
The administration was also lauded for the recent announcement of the third approval of disbursement from Norway.
“I think Guyana deserves that and because of the good stewardship of our resources, I think today, we are saying to the world that we have seen the importance of our forest, even before other countries have realised the importance of forest.”
He added that as indigenous people, they have played a significant role in maintaining and monitoring the resources, and with the investment of these funds that will be going directly to Amerindian communities, these investments are paying dividend in the transformation of their economy, villages and everyday life.
Source - http://www.gina.gov.gy/home/in...ctice-accountability
