AFTER months of being appointed, Guyana’s Ambassador to Venezuela, Cheryl Miles, has finally been accredited by that country, locked as it is in a bitter controversy with this country over ownership of the Essequibo.Ambassador Miles presented her Letters of Credence to Venezuela’s Minister of People’s Power for External Relations, Delcy Rodriguez, on Wednesday, February 17. Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge made the disclosure on Thursday in response to a question posed by People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Chief Whip and Former Foreign Affairs Minister Gail Teixeira during the Parliamentary Committee of Supply on the appointments of Heads of Missions.

The Guyanese Ambassador to Venezuela presented her Letters of Credence the same day that marked the 50th Anniversary of the Geneva Agreement. The Geneva Agreement, which governs the age-old border controversy, was signed by then British Guiana, the United Kingdom and Venezuela.

Ambassador Miles’s accreditation also comes less than two weeks after the Venezuelan Minister of People’s Power for External Relations declared that “Venezuela will deliver the country’s formal accusation, observations and proposals to the documents presented on the territorial controversy”, while emphasising that the country will reaffirm its “legitimate rights” over the Essequibo territory.

Only recently, President David Granger called on the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon to have Venezuela’s contention that the 1899 Arbitral Award is null and void settled through a judicial process. Guyana has been cooperating with the UN Secretary General, but according to Minister Greenidge, Venezuela seems prepared to derail the process that will bring an end to this controversy.

Ambassador Miles began her career in 1974, serving then at the Guyana High Commission in London. In 2008, she returned to Guyana after a nine-year stint as Ambassador to Brazil, but the then Bharrat Jagdeo administration chose to discontinue her service; and so she left, parting amicably with the government and ending 34 years of service to the profession.

With her now being accredited, Minister Greenidge is hoping that, within two weeks, the other appointed Heads of Missions would receive their approval from the respective countries. Guyana has 13 Missions, but only four have ambassadors. Minister Greenidge explained that, the for the most part, requests for agréments have been submitted to several countries.

President David Granger has expressed a similar hope that, during February 2016, his government would be able to announce the appointment of new Guyanese ambassadors to several countries.

Government has said there must be rotation of Heads of Missions. Just after the May 11, 2015 General Elections, the administration announced that the Heads of Missions should not be in situ for more than four years.
The procedure for diplomats, Government has said, is for them to be rotated between two and four-year periods. Minister Carl Greenidge had said Government intends to have politicians, who are not career diplomats, resign from their posts, given that the former Government is no longer in power.