Jagdeo rebuffs media misrepresentation of Toshaos’ Conference

The coverage by two dailies of the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference ongoing at the Arthur Chung Conference Center from August 19 to August 23, was criticised by Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo for what he describes as a distortion of the outcomes.

Jagdeo spoke on Thursday at a press conference held at Freedom House.

He said both Stabroek News and Kaieteur News are engaged in misrepresentation of the outcomes of the conference.

He claimed that these publications exaggerated the role of the Amerindian People’s Association (APA) ‘s role and magnified a few individuals’ comments while overshadowing the “overwhelmingly positive” aspects of the event.

“Today’s coverage has confirmed what I predicted last week… that there would be misrepresentation,” Jagdeo said.

He asserted that a truthful report would highlight the conference’s success and its model of good governance. According to Jagdeo, the NTC conference represented an unprecedented level of government consultation with indigenous people, a practice he claims cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

“In which country would an entire cabinet spend a week with elected Indigenous leaders discussing their development issues? That is precisely what happened during the past week at the NTC,” Jagdeo remarked.

The Vice President described the discussions at the conference as respectful, constructive, and focused on problem-solving.

He noted that his presentation and subsequent discussions with Toshaos and other village leaders were met with support and no negative feedback.

Jagdeo expressed frustration that the newspapers’ reports gave a misleading impression of the event as a site of controversy.

He argued that by prioritising the APA’s voice and elevating it above other contributions, the newspapers were disrespecting the Amerindian people.

He also countered claims regarding Amerindian self-determination, emphasising that this right is established under the Amerindian Act, which also provides for the establishment of the NTC.

Jagdeo highlighted that village councils have the authority to set development priorities, which are then funded by the government, including through revenues from carbon credit sales.

Jagdeo said he told the NTC of APA’s involvement in attempting to block the release of those carbon credit funds to advance the development of these communities.

The Low Carbon Development Strategy (2030) commits 15 per cent of all revenues from carbon credit sales to Amerindian villages for investment in village development activities.

The government has decided to allocate 26.5 percent of the earnings from 2024- a sum that amounts to US$23.2 million- to 242 Amerindian villages and new entrants.

Jagdeo, in recognizing a small number of dissenting voices, said that the APA has advised people not to collect the development funds and noted that people have a right to refuse the monies – opt-out.