The Indigenous People’s Commission yesterday launched its five-year strategic plan which aims to tackle several problems faced by the country’s first people.
Under the theme ‘Building competence and promoting rights of indigenous peoples,’ Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Autry Haynes launched the plan and said that by the end of the five years they hope to achieve significant milestones and will use several indicators to track the progress made.
Speaking on the current situation facing Amerindians he said that there have been improvements such as transportation and other public services in the hinterland. “However the Amerindian community initiatives are limited to the interventions made by donors or technical advice agencies. The national and regional authorities have increased support to the Amerindians over the years, but the communities are currently not sufficiently organized to take advantage of this support,” he said.
He said that while there remains a high level of concern and willingness among the national authorities and external agencies over the situation of the Amerindian peoples, the administration is also plagued with a critical lack of human and other resources to address specific preferences and problems that are logistically distant and can be difficult.
Culture of dependence
According to Haynes, one problem that has emerged from the type of donor assistance given to the communities is a culture of dependence on charity and gifts. This, he said, has undermined the willingness of the Amerindians to grapple with their situation and to find endogenous solutions to challenges of development.
In terms of the aim of the strategic plan, he said that within the next five years, the IPC will have recommended, promoted and actively contributed to the implementation of relevant policies on rights, empowerment, consultative processes, training and technical assistance, protection and preservation of the cultural heritage of a more informed and more conscious Indigenous peoples. “With stronger partnerships, more stable resources and improved services, IPC will be a fully recognized and respected commission representing IP’s rights,” he declared.
Among the other objectives of the strategic plan are to promote and protect the rights of indigenous peoples, educate employers and the public and make recommendations to improve employment practices related to indigenous peoples, raise awareness of the contributions of, and problems faced by, indigenous peoples, promote empowerment of indigenous peoples, especially with regard to the village council in the local government system and the scope and authority of the Council of Toshaos, make recommendations on economic and education policies to advance the interests of indigenous peoples, promote consultation and cooperation with indigenous peoples especially with regard to their participation in national decision-making and other decisions that affect their lives, administrative improvement, strengthened Administration’s Way of Working (WOW) to meet the mandates of the Commission and legitimate needs and demands of the indigenous peoples and fund raising.
“Our plan is to go out and identify the root cause of problems,” he emphasised.
UNICEF Resident Representative, Dr. Suleiman Braimoh charged that when there are breaches of rights, it is the duty of the IPC to work towards ensuring that these are fixed. “UNICEF stands ready to provide support at all time with respect to your mandate,” he said.
The IPC commissioners formulated the plan, Haynes said. He pointed out that UNICEF provided financial and technical support.
The 10 persons who were appointed in 2010 to sit on the IPC are Norman Whittaker, David James, Patricia Singh, Dr George Norton, George Simon, Captain Gerald Gouveia, Damian Fernandes, Father Malcolm Rodrigues and Toshaos Yvonne Pearson, Marco J De Souza and Doreen Jacobis.
