…says silence of NTC deafening
The dismissal of Community Development Officers (CDOs), Welfare Officers and Social Workers across Indigenous Villages, does not augur well for the Indigenous People of Guyana, former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Member of Parliament Mervyn Williams said as he called on the National Toshaos Council (NTC) to take decisive actions to safeguard the rights of its people.
In addition to the disruption of trade activities at Karasabai in the South Pakaraimas District and the suspension of the Campbelltown’s Toshao, Williams said scores of Indigenous people have been fired since the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration took office on August 2.
Village Voice News has been able to confirm the names of 25 persons whose services were terminated by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. Chief among them are Community Development Officers, Social Workers and Welfare Officers, he said.
“I am hopeful that sooner rather than later we will hear from the National Toshaos Council (NTC) and when we do, whatever they say will be to the benefit of the Indigenous People,” Williams said while noting that the silence of the NTC, on these critical issues, is deafening.
Thirty-two-year-old Ellis Brasche is among those dismissed. Brasche told Village Voice News that he was caught ‘off guard,’ when he was informed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Sharon Hicks, that his contract would not be renewed, having served tirelessly. Brasche’s contract was expected to end in February, 2021, however, the Amerindian Affairs Ministry has ended it a month or two earlier.
As a CDO for more than four years, Brasche has worked closely with villages in North Rupununi to craft developmental projects and programmes for the villages. “My job was to give advice to all of the Village Councils in the North Rupununi, and monitor projects, get financial reports [done], and sent them to the Ministry,” he explained while noting that many villages depend heavily on the CDOs to craft their project proposals in keeping with the criteria.
Additionally, he, along with the Welfare Officers, was helping his Indigenous brothers and sisters to access their Birth Certificates and National Insurance Scheme (NIS) among other documents.
Brasche said the decision not to renew his contract has placed him a terrible situation. “Presently, me and my common-law, none of us are working, but when I was working, I could have actually relied on salary to assist my little family,” he said.
Wendella Franklin, another dismissed CDO, told Village Voice News that her contract with the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development was scheduled to expire on November 15, 2020, however she was dismissed one month earlier. Working directly with the ministry, Franklin said that he had oversight over Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Berbice).
The mother of one said the sudden dismissal resulted in her experiencing financial difficulties. “It had affected me a lot because they hadn’t given me any notice before. That was the only job I had,” she said noting that for the two past months, she was unable to pay her bills.
The former Member of Parliament said those fired were pivotal to the delivery of goods and services, particularly in Indigenous Villages.
“At the moment there is a demand by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs for project proposals to come in from villages. There are a number of villages that rely heavily if not exclusively on the Community Development Officers to assist them in the preparation of these documents. Now when you fire all of the CDOs and you are demanding from the Village Councils the submission of important proposals by a particular timeline to get the projects up and running; you are really not making sense,” Williams reasoned.
Further, he condemned the move by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development to dismiss Social Workers and Welfare Officer.
“Now, when you fire all of the social workers, whose job it is to counsel persons who are going through crisis such as these, you are not making sense,” he added, while questioning in whose interest is the Government acting.
Williams said with the firing the DCOs, the Amerindian Affairs Ministry has taken a decision to allow to offer Community Service Officers.
.”The Community Service Officers can be useful if their services are utilized again within the context of what is in the best interest of the indigenous people. However, if you go back to the tenure of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) before this one, you will find that Community Service Officers (CSOs) were essentially rugrats for the minister,” Williams said.
According to him, pre-2015, the CSOs were used by the PPP/C Administration to superimpose themselves on the Village Councils.
“The whole question of Free, Prior and Informed Consent as a right to the village was denied because of the political high handedness of these officers, and it is unfortunate that it appears as though we are heading right back to those days,” the former APNU+AFC MP posited.
He said it is time the NTC pick up its mantle. The former MP expressed disappointment that despite scores of Indigenous Peoples have been dismissed, the NTC has not made its position known.
Efforts to contact the Chairman of the National Toshaos Council, Nicholas Fredericks have proven futile.
