Village leadership and community decision-making in Guyana
In some Amerindian communities in Guyana, there is concern that Toshaos are making decisions on their
own, without properly consulting the people. Some are under the increasing influence of political parties
or the government, while and others make decisions based on the Amerindian Act, not our customary
decision-making processes. Is it enough that decisions are based on the agreement of just two-thirds of the
small number of people who attend community general meetings when projects like mining, forestry and
conservation will affect us all?
We need to remember:
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Toshaos and village councilors are elected by us, to represent our people, not the government or the
wishes of the National Toshaos Council; Section 13 of the Amerindian Act spells out the duties of the
Village Council, which include to: 3a) “at all times act in the best interests of the village” and “1a)
represent the village; (e) manage and regulate the use and occupation of Village lands; and (f) promote
the sustainable use, protection and conservation of Village lands and the resources on those lands; and
(g) encourage the preservation and growth of Amerindian culture.” Under Section 22 the duties of the
Toshao are to “a) represent the interests of the Village at all times; (b) carry out his duties with honesty
and integrity; (f) provide the Village general meeting with a report of every meeting which he attends
on their behalf;”
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In order for them to represent us we have to give the Toshaos a mandate — everyone of us has to give
them guidance;
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This guidance should also come from groups of people like fishers, woodsmen, hunters and herbalists
who are sometimes out on the land more than they are in the community. These groups are the
customary institutions in some of our communities and they could be left out of important decisions
unless we take special steps to make sure their voices are heard.
There are many tips for strengthening our decision-making systems in this guide and in its sister guides on impact
assessment and negotiating impact and benefit agreements. We need to read all three and decide as a community
what steps we need to take!
2.4b Deciding on our decision-making process
It is critical to come up with a strong decision-making process to deal with new situations like large-scale mining.
So, as we are deciding what institutions we trust to represent all of our people, we should also think about how
important decisions are made in our community.
Some questions to consider are:
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Who is involved in discussions?
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Who gets consulted, both in formal meetings and when things are discussed informally?
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Who often gets left out — is that right?
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How decisions are finally reached?
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How are progress on decision-making and the final decisions communicated back to our people?
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How are they enforced?
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Are leaders accountable to our people for the decisions they make?
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Can these processes work for new situations, or do they have to be adapted?
Free, Prior and Informed Consent