Following a string of defeats in the courts and calls for the 2006 Amer-indian Act to be reformed to offer better protection for indigenous peoples, Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock says that he will move to have it amended soon.
“We can’t continue like this. It is not right to be treating the indigenous peoples in this way, who are the ones who have kept, I think, the ecosystems in place and this should be respected,” the minister told Stabroek News in an interview on Friday. He said the matter needs urgent attention and pointed to Section 53 of the Act in particular.
This section states that if the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) intends to issue a permit, concession, licence or other
