Dear Editor,
Vice President Jagdeo recently announced that 20% of the total land area of Guyana will be Amerindian Titled lands in keeping with Government’s land distribution policy.
While this may sound pleasing to the ear, the reality is much more complicated because not all Amerindians have ready and easy access to Amerindians lands. Most village councils, especially in the Rupununi, only approve lands for persons native to the village and there are instances where people were refused land because of their tribe. There are hundreds of Amerindians living on the coastlands, and other areas of the country, who cannot access lands because they are considered outsiders by Village Councils. Those people are forced to compete for lands elsewhere. In some villages, even people who are native to the villages are refused land. At this point it is wise to point out that the Amerindian Act defines an Amerindian as anyone who is a descendent of an Amerindian.
Presently there are no legislation barring anyone living in Amerindian communities from acquiring lands in non-Amerindian villages. In Region nine, persons living in Amerindian communities have legal house lots in Lethem, Tabatinga and Culvert City. Taking this into consideration, it is more accurate to say that more than 20% of the land will be given to a certain category of Amerindians. In any event this goes to show how out of touch policy makers within the Government are with reality on the ground and a sensible approach is needed on this issue to ensure that lands are distributed equally among all citizens of Guyana regardless of their ethnicity.
Sincerely,
Patrick Fitzpatrick
