Derrick John is new NTC chairman

Moraikobai Toshao, Derick John was on Monday elected to serve as Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC).

It was disclosed that the elections were held on the first of a five-day NTC conference being held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal. Following the elections, two persons tied for the position of deputy chair, and this will be sorted later by the executive.

Karrau Toshao, Shane Cornelius was elected NTC secretary, while Michael Thomas, Toshao of Aishalton was elected treasurer. John in addressing Toshaos and senior councillors following the election, assured the village representatives that they will be well represented.

“I can assure you that we will do the best of our ability, because that will be our main agenda, your concern, your rights, is our priority,” John said. The new NTC Chair declared that much work needs to be done, especially since the lifespan of the executive is less than two years.

“Therefore, there is a need for all of us to be prepared to take the agenda forward. We have a lot of work to do, and as we will be sitting for the next four days, we will hear concerns, problems, challenges, issues and therefore, we will have to be the driving force, working along with the government, trying to resolve most of these issues,” he said.

John admitted that significant confidence was entrusted in the elected members, said, “I believe that if we can work as a team, we can achieve, and we will be able to bring to realisation a change in the lives of our indigenous brothers and sisters right across this beautiful country of Guyana.”

It was revealed that the council is a semi-autonomous body comprising all toshaos in Guyana. As such, the 20-member executive committee includes a chairman, vice chair, secretary and treasurer. It was disclosed that the executive body is installed every three years during the annual NTC Conference, after the regions elect their members to serve on the council.

Additionally, the annual NTC conference was not held for the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.