There are problems in the Amerindian Act 2006

Dear Editor,

Our new President has stated that he intends that the country should be governed by the rule of law. This would mean that Amerindian communities must be governed in accordance with the provisions of the Amerindian Act 2006. This Act, and by extension the Amerindian people, were abused by the previous administration. Even if our new Minister, whom we welcome to his newly named ministry, is not further pressed or does not see fit to review the Act, he is bound by new policy to see that the law is observed.

My remarks on this subject which you published in March elicited a legal analysis from Ms Melinda Janki, for which I thank her. Her advice caused me to examine the Act itself, in which I found, among other things:

  1. a) Sect. 15(b): Any rule made by a Village Council can only come into effect after the Minister has approved the rule and it has been published in the Official Gazette.
  2. b) Sect. 18(3): Any tax proposed by a Village Council must be submitted to the Minister for approval. The Minister may disallow any tax or vary it as s/he thinks appropriate.
  3. c) Sect. 29: It is the Minister that shall remove a Toshao or Councillor who fails due process under Sect. 26, or if the Minister has recommended removal after due process under Sect. 27.
  4. d) Sect. 32: Village Councils must present an annual plan including cost estimates to the Village general meeting, and when approved a copy must be sent to the Minister. When, as Ms Janki points out, the Minister allocates money from the treasury or from NGOs to fund any expenses of the plan, that gives the Minister control of the plan.
  5. e) Sect. 33: It is the Minister who must prior to Village Council elections arrange a general audit of a Village Council’s finances and records, and give copies of the audit to the Council to place before a Village meeting. It is the Minister who may arrange interim financial audits as deemed necessary.
  6. f) Sect. 13(1)(k): It is to the Minister, along with the Auditor, that the Village Council must provide a copy of its accounts.
  7. g) Sect. 22(i): It is the Minister to whom the Toshao reports on matters which affect the village.
  8. h) Sect. 24(1): It is the Minister who sets and pays a stipend to the Toshao.
  9. i) Sect. 28 (1): It is the Minister who shall appoint a committee to investigate a Toshao or a Councillor who contravenes any provision of the Act.

 

These are only some of what, to me, if not to Ms Janki, look like problems in the Amerindian Act 2006. They have been used to deny Amerindians self-determination, and I only hope they don’t bind the new Minister to do the same. Ms Janki may wish to distribute further free advice on my findings, and I hope the new Minister will pay her due attention. Beyond the few items I have mentioned above, the Act mentions in Sect. 41(a) the Indigenous Peoples Commission. Amerindians would like to know what the functions of this Commission are. We would also like to know the status of the Amerindian Development Fund and the 20% royalties from mining.

 

It will be an uphill task for the Minister to implement new systems in communities, but this is what Amerindians will expect of him, and any deviation from the Act would go against the rule of law. If the Minister determines that any part of the Act is not applicable to actual conditions, then he should make it known and consultations should begin towards correction.

Yours faithfully,

Patrick Fitzpatrick