Dear Editor,

MOST of our national athletes who represent our country at the Olympics are dual citizens. Our national Lady Jaguars and men’s senior football teams have majority overseas-based players that are dual citizens. Ambassadors that represent our country are sometimes dual citizens. Individuals who represent us at important world bodies like the UN and in Brussels are, for the most part, dual citizens. Beauty queens who represent our country at international pageants are sometimes dual citizens, yet when it comes to our Parliament, our law prohibits dual citizens from being members.

The main reason for this archaic law is that a person who holds dual citizenship might have divided loyalty in terms of their true allegiance if they have to mediate on a situation involving the two countries that they are itizens of.

Another reason is that they do not participate in the day-to-day life of the country and pay their taxes, hence, they have not earned the right to be our representative in Parliament.
Progressive sporting bodies like the Olympics and FIFA accommodate dual citizens to represent the country of their choice, with the firm conviction that once an athlete wears a country’s flag above his heart, he will at all times give his complete commitment, skills, integrity and talent to that flag.

If a Guyanese that holds citizenship to the US is representing Guyana at the Olympics, do you think they will deliberately go easy on the US athletes? On the contrary, they will put all the sweat into glory for self and flag. The same will apply to a dual citizen in our Parliament; there is no reason to doubt that they will not represent themselves with integrity and patriotism. We are a nation that has lost a lot of skilled countrymen during the PNC dictatorship and ensuing years; if we are to propel ourselves into the gilded age, we need to harness as much talent in the diaspora, and allow these dual citizens full participation in all the decision-making bodies of the country, inclusive of the Parliament.
To weed out the carpetbaggers and allow for dual citizens to participate and pay their taxes, a five-year mandatory residency in the country should be the precursor for entitlement of dual citizenship Guyanese to enter Parliament. It is time to revoke this medieval law that bars dual citizens from participating in Parliament.

Your sincerely,
Reggie Bhagwandin