– President Granger

THE presence of foreign nationals in Guyana will have no influence over general elections in Guyana.

This is according to President David Granger, who noted on Thursday that, “there is no credibility” in the claims of the opposition that the foreigners will have an impact on the elections.

While addressing members of the media during a press briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency, the Head of State noted that Minister of Citizenship , Winston Felix, has made it clear that based on the analysis made , that Haitians are not interested in staying here, and that they want to go to a third country. “These are all allegations and as far as we concerned we want to protect the sovereignty and integrity of Guyana,” the President said.
As he elaborated on the issue, he said that Guyana does not wish to be used as a “conduit for illegal migration”, adding that there are thousands of Venezuelan migrants in the country and government is concerned about issue. He said the authorities know of the influx of Cubans but as he questioned the motive of the Opposition, he said, “suddenly there seem to be a great concern about the influx of Haitians.”

“My understanding is that they are not going to be involved in influencing the elections in Guyana, nor will the Cubans, nor will the Venezuelans,” the President said.

On Monday, Minister Felix, in an interview with the Ministry of the Presidency’s Public Information and Press Service Department, condemned as “inaccurate and deceptive,” information published in both the Kaieteur News and Guyana Times on the arrival and departure of Haitian travellers here.

The articles have alleged that Haitians are being smuggled, are victims of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and that there are levels of collusion to have the Haitians registered to vote at the upcoming General and Regional Elections (GRE).

The Kaieteur News reported on August 1, 2019 under the headline, “Out of 8,600 Haitians, only 13 left Guyana legally – Guyana is being used as stepping stone – Minister Felix.” These numbers are patently false, the minister said.

Instead, he said, during the same period 8,476 Haitians arrived in Guyana and 1,170 departed the country. Forty-eight were refused leave on landing.

The Minister of Citizenship pointed out that the Guyana Police Force has made checks and to date, has found no evidence to indicate even a single instance of people smuggling or Trafficking in Persons (TIP), relative to the Haitian travellers.

Several Haitian nationals told the Guyana Chronicle that they felt victimised following the publication of the articles by the private newspapers. They also called on the Guyana Times to issue a public apology for tying citizens of the French-speaking CARICOM nation, to diseases.

Guyana has seen an influx of Venezuelans in recent months as the economic situation in the Bolivarian Republic continues to reach lower levels. Guyana hosted 36,400 Venezuelans as of February this year, a USAID (United States Agency for International Development) report stated in April. Nationals of the neighbouring country continue to travel to these shores, in search of greener pastures.