She hopes that by the end of April all the recommendations would be available for a review and to be formulated into the new piece of legislation.

The revision of the Amerindian Act, which started last year, was among the priority projects on the ministry's agenda.

However several factors caused the process not to be completed.

The Technical Committee comprises a private lawyer, a lawyer from the Attorney General's Chambers, representatives from the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, villages and the Amerindian organisations.

So far, they have engaged the people of Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice) in discussions and are in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo ) receiving suggestions for revising and possible inclusion in the new Act.

The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs had during the first quarter of last year, made and distributed copies of the existing Amerindian Act to Amerindian communities for their perusal and possible input.

The communities are expected to forward their recommendations to the technical team for inclusion in the revised Act.

The Amerindian Act stipulates how Amerindian communities should be governed.

However, many of the articles in the legal document are outdated and do not apply to today's society.

The Act was last amended in 1976.