Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai on Wednesday officially removed Marbel Thomas from her position as Toshao of Campbelltown, in Region Eight, saying that the investigation into the Village Council revealed that she breached several sections of the 2006 Amerindian Act (AA).
Deputy Toshao Samantha Edwards-John will now act as Toshao until the National Toshaos’ elections, which are scheduled to be held later this year.
On October 20th, 2020 Earl Gildharie and a few residents of the indigenous community handed over a petition with the signatures of 130 residents to Sukhai seeking the removal of Thomas, her deputy, Edwards-John and other members of the Village Council as they alleged that only certain residents and foreigners were being allowed to conduct mining activities in the community. It was also alleged that Thomas had taken full control of the land where gold was recently discovered.
Other allegations stemming from the petition were that the Village Council failed to call general meetings and make financial disclosures and also, making large purchases without the consultation. It was also alleged that the Toshao elections held in 2018 were illegal.
The investigative team consisted of Member of Parliament Yvonne Pearson, Anil Roberts, Charles Collymore and one person from the National Toshaos Council (NTC), which was Edward McGarrell. A member of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Eight was required to be part of the investigative committee but this was not done because the RDC “was not decided” and new councillors are yet to be sworn in and therefore a representative was not nominated, the minister reportedly said.
According to a report on the investigation, which was seen by Stabroek News, the investigative team arrived in the community on November 19th, 2020 and held public meetings with the residents.
Regarding the Village Council’s decision to halt gold mining activities in the community, the report stated that during public meetings residents failed to identify themselves in relation to the above claim, however the council members and the Toshao did testify that harsh measures were taken in order to gain control of the situation. The team concluded that the Toshao should have sought professional assistance and have the matter dealt with according to the constitution and not single-handedly try to restore order.
“The committee is of the opinion that that as required by section 10 of the AA there was no evidence that the Village Council acted collectively in making decisions as it regards mining,” the report states, while adding that there was no evidence of adhering to a procedure as it regards management of mining on village land.
Further, the report stated that the team could not ascertain that Thomas had taken full control of the land where gold was discovered as was claimed since residents failed to present evidence. However, based on interactions with the Village Council, it was discovered that Thomas, Edwards-John, Assistant Treasurer Vincent Xavier and Councillor Juliet Xavier had interests in the mining area. The team said that there was no evidence that the persons mentioned recused themselves from the decision-making process to be granted consent to exercise traditional mining privileges and it was clear that there are conflicts of interest, thereby creating a breach of the AA.
As it relates to the alleged failure to conduct general Meetings, the council was asked to present minutes of the public meetings that were held and according to the now-acting Toshao this was done. The Investigative committee stated that the council explained that due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, meetings were held in clusters but this was allegedly refuted by some residents. “There was no evidence provided to indicate that meetings were held as legally required even prior to the pandemic at 2020. The minutes that were actually present lacked authenticity and verification and therefore cannot be relied on that a village meeting was held as required,” the document added.
Regarding the refusal to disclose finances, the team said the council could not defend the allegations made that it spent village funds and therefore it was in breach of Section 32 (1) of the AA. While the council did provide minutes for village meetings, the team said that those minutes were not legitimate along with quotation and pictorial images provided.
Meanwhile, on the allegations of illegal Village Council elections, the team said that based on verbal evidence given by the Toshao and other residents, it was concluded that the acting Toshao and some of the councillors may have been elected in a manner outside of the prescribed electoral process. It was stated that Edwards-John was nominated as a candidate for Toshao and gained the second highest amount of votes and it was decided by the then Regional Executive Officer that since she had the second highest amount of votes, she should be the Deputy Toshao. According to the document, this was unacceptable to councillors and so an election for Deputy Toshao was held among three candidates and it was determined that Edwards-John would still be the Deputy Toshao.
Not satisfied
Based on several breaches of the Amerindian Act and failure to carry out her duties, the Toshao should be removed, the investigative team recommended. It also recommended that Edwards-John be relieved from her duties as treasurer as she was elected Deputy Toshao. It was also recommended that a new treasurer be appointed and that village councillors should be allowed to function during the remaining term in office and that the MOAA should closely monitor the affairs of the Village Council.
Although the ministry denied that the halting of mining activities was not its doing, the team recommended that those operations resume with the full implementation of the Village Mining Plan that was submitted to GGMC by the Council.
Thomas confirmed her removal yesterday but noted that only three of the persons signed the report as McGarrell on behalf of the NTC refused to do so.
She disclosed that she was informed that she was removed as Toshao on Wednesday at a meeting held in the community. She revealed that the Minister read out the summary of the investigation’s findings after which residents made it clear that they were not satisfied with the outcome. She noted that Sukhai then asked for everyone to accept the decision and move on and that they should not request further investigation into the allegations made by the petition or go to court regarding her decision.
Thomas denied the allegations brought against her and the village council, while maintaining that they are all false and they provided everything that the investigative team requested during the investigation. “The village council acted collectively and we presented all that they asked for so we did not expect a result like that because as a council we have tried in all areas to do what we should be doing as a village council and hearing the results; what the petitioners said was the same thing in there,” she told Stabroek News.
The former Toshao believes that the decision to remove her was political and unfair. Thomas served as Toshao of Campbelltown for more than five years. The now-acting Toshao, Edwards-John told Stabroek News that she is of the opinion that the minister’s decision to remove Thomas was due to a personal conflict with her. During the meeting on Wednesday, she said, Sukhai refused to listen to the council. She noted that the petition was against the entire Village Council but no basis was provided by which they were allowed to continue carrying out their duties until the next election while Thomas was dismissed. Edwards-John added that when the Minister visited the community, she only associated with known People Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) party members with whom she discussed issues relating to the community. “We see this as a total disrespect to the village council and as I said I am totally disappointed by the outcome of the investigation because all are false,” she said.
Unjust
Following the revelation that Thomas was removed from her position, the Guyana Action Party (GAP), one of the two components of opposition partnership APNU, condemned “the attack” by Sukhai and by extension, the PPP/C government.
“The Minister made no secret of her intention to remove the Toshao when she gave full public support to the allegations in a flimsy petition instigated by a PPP supporter from the Village asking her to remove the elected Toshao and Council even before the Toshao and Council had any opportunity to answer the allegations against them. In a lengthy post on the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs Facebook page dated 20th October 2020 the Minister gave credence to slanderous allegations against the Toshao and even went to the ridiculous extreme to assert that the Council was illegitimately installed,” a statement by the party said before noting that the Village Council refuted all allegations in the petition and that the Minister had made her mind up on removing Thomas.
“The Minister of Amerindian Affairs and the PPP Government have left no doubt in the minds of all right thinking Guyanese by this egregious assault on a young vibrant female Indigenous leader and the Council which she leads that the Minister and her government have no respect and regard for elected Indigenous leaders and peoples who exercise their right to self-determination to govern their Villages and administer their Village affairs free of undue political and other interference. The Guyana Action Party stands firmly and solidly in support of Toshao Marbel Thomas and the Village Council of Campbelltown against this arbitrary and grossly unjust decision by the Minister of Amerindian Affairs and the PPP Government,” the statement added.
Prior to her removal, Thomas had been suspended, which she said confused her because the petition sought the removal of the entire village council yet she was the only one suspended.
Stabroek News was told that the Village Council was never told of the allegations against it although it repeatedly requested a copy of the petition, which was not given to the members until one day before the investigation commenced.
Thomas said the village council’s decision to limit mining activities was based on the advice of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), which found the operations unsafe.
She explained that in mid-September there was a gold rush within the community and many artisanal miners flocked to the area and immediately started conducting mining activities. She noted that since then, these small-scale miners worked 24/7 until recently when the GGMC issued a cease order, while demanding that all mining activities in the community be stopped until the safety issues were resolved.
Thomas added that on October 6, GGMC made its first official visit to the area where the gold was discovered. During its visit, she said, the GGMC officers conducted an inspection of the area and concluded that it was very unsafe to do mining in that specific area. In addition, she said, they were told that they had to make the area safer for people to do mining activities. As the council moved to act on the GMC’s advice, some residents were displeased with the decision of the council and later petitioned to have the members removed.
