President Irfaan Ali on Thursday assured Amerindian leaders attending the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference that the government’s commitments to indigenous communities would remain a priority, even as he remained in Region Two overseeing the response to the MV Barima tragedy.
In an audio message played to Toshaos during a dinner at the conference, Ali apologised for being unable to attend, explaining that national efforts remained focused on supporting families affected by the ferry disaster and continuing rescue and recovery operations.
The audio was shared on the President’s Facebook page with the caption: “His Excellency President Dr Irfaan Ali addressed Amerindian leaders attending the National Toshaos Council Conference in Georgetown via Vice-President the Honourable Dr Bharrat Jagdeo’s mobile phone, this evening. The Head of State is in Charity, Region Two. He has been in Essequibo for several days supporting the families affected by the MV Barima tragedy.”
“Let me first of all, as the Vice President said, apologise to all the leaders for not being able to join you at this dinner or so far the NTC,” Ali said.
“As you know, our national priority, in addition to the NTC, is to bring as much relief and comfort to the families and to optimise every available opportunity in the rescue and recovery.”
The President said government agencies had been working around the clock to support affected families while pursuing every opportunity to recover victims and, if possible, rescue any survivors.
He disclosed that efforts were continuing to move the sunken vessel into shallower waters to improve divers’ access.
“As I speak to you now, our team is still working trying to get the ship to the shallow waters so the diver could have a greater opportunity to get into the ship because, as it is now, from the information from the divers, there are still some amount of persons in the ship that we are trying to get to,” he said.
Ali said the recovery effort was also aimed at returning victims to their relatives so families could have closure.
Turning to the conference, the President said he had been closely following the proceedings through updates from Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and other members of the government and reiterated that commitments made to indigenous communities would be honoured.
“I want you to know that every single commitment and every single priority that has been identified will be pursued,” he said.
He identified job creation, improved services, increased productivity and expanded public service delivery as key objectives for hinterland communities over the next four years.
According to Ali, discussions at the conference had included housing, economic opportunities, expanding production and the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), adding that the package of initiatives being discussed represented a level of investment exceeding previous combined interventions.
“We are looking forward to continuing to work with every community and ensuring that we can build not only safe communities and productive communities but communities that can be not only self-sufficient but create opportunities for the residents,” he said.
Ali also thanked Cabinet members, Vice President Jagdeo and Prime Minister Mark Phillips for ensuring that the conference proceeded smoothly while reaffirming that the priorities raised by Toshaos would be incorporated into a national strategy aimed at strengthening economic activity, livelihoods and sustainable development in indigenous communities.
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