Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 06, 2015 News
To prepare for upcoming National Toshaos Elections, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs has been conducting audits on 18 of the villages for the July 16 to 22 polls.
This was revealed in a recent interview with the Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock at his Thomas Street, Georgetown, Ministry offices.
The Ministry, according to the official, is in the process of auditing various communities partaking in the Toshao Elections, and will continue the audit even after elections are completed. Due to the number of Indigenous communities throughout Guyana, Minister Allicock added that an entire audit could not be done before the Elections.
As it stands, the Ministry is auditing 18 villages before the beginning of the Toshao Elections on July 16. The aim of the communities’ wide audit is to organise an accounting which is well prepared for future development in the outlying settlements.
Minister Allicock said that the audit comes at a time when the Ministry discovered that communities need more work done in preparation for the elections. For this reason, the Minister added that the audits, which began on July 2, will aim to improve accountability within communities for future elections.
“A number of communities are not well prepared to do the accounts for the Toashao Elections. It is a planning process and we are able to step up that training for better accountability for future elections,” related Minister Allicock.
The lack of accountability, the Minister added, was a great weakness in Indigenous communities and is another reason for the Ministry’s extensive audit.
The audit is expected to last up to July 13 and will look at villages in Region’s One, Two, Four, Five, Seven, Eight and Nine. Among the 18 villages included in the audit’s first phase are Orealla, Jawalla, Kurukubaru and Wowetta.
According to Minister Allicock, the idea of the audit is to satisfy the concerns of residents as well as to provide a clear understanding of communities’ financial situation, so that the new village council will know to function.
As the elections are just around the corner, Minister Allicock said that his Ministry has received general support for the facilitation of the electoral process. However he contended that the current rainy season has impeded preparations for the elections.
“That is why April was identified as the month of elections since the logistics would be easier to reach the various outlying areas than it is now (July),” said the Minister.
Due to the recently held Regional and General Elections on May 11, the biannual Toshao election was required to change its scheduled date from April to July.
Following elections, the Minister said that it would then be possible to elect members to the National Toshao’s Council (NTC). The council is in charge of organising various Indigenous Heritage activities and is the central body for Toshaos in the country.
Moreover, the Indigenous Affairs Minister shared that his Ministry will need to collaborate with the Ministry of Communities, as well as Regional Democratic Councils, to update accounting systems in order to develop Indigenous settlements’ functionality.
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