–duty-free concessions upon return for household items, vehicles
GUYANESE returning from Venezuela are not exempted from the benefits and opportunities extended to native Guyanese returning home from other countries across the world.
This was made clear by Foreign Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Robert Persaud, on Saturday during an engagement with persons residing in Region Two (Pomeroom-Supenaam), who returned recently from Venezuela.
Persaud told the re-migrants that the Government of Guyana, through the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry, stands ready to facilitate the distribution of benefits to persons who have returned home from Venezuela, where economic instability has forced not just Guyanese residing there, but also natives, out of the country.
The foreign secretary, with the aid of translator Javier Singh of the International Organisation for Migration (IMO), said that the incentive regime will enable re-migrants to bring all their household items duty-free.
He said too that Guyanese returning from Venezuela will be able to acquire a vehicle of a certain class and below $5 million, duty-free. This incentive is not just available to those re-migrants, but also any Guyanese who returns home after living abroad, once they satisfy the requisite criteria.
During his engagement with the re-migrants, Persaud spoke of the many opportunities that will be made available to Guyanese who returned to Guyana from Venezuela and also Venezuelans that had fled their country due to the political and economic turmoil.
Persons desirous of accessing the opportunities are asked to fill out the forms found on the ministry’s website.
“I know that Guyanese who have returned are staying with their families…we want to hear from you; what your interest is so we can channel this to the various ministries and agencies for help,” Persaud said.
Speaking specifically about Venezuelans who were forced to flee their country for a better life, Persaud said that Guyana has welcomed those persons and offered empathy.
He said that in the past, many persons had also fled Guyana due to various circumstances and they were welcomed in other countries and have contributed significantly to those countries’ economies.
MIGRATION POLICY
Persaud said the Government of Guyana understands the struggles re-migrants from Venezuela face, and, as such, has developed a strong collaboration with the IOM in order to develop an integrated plan to accommodate and manage the migration crisis of those returning home.
The foreign secretary said that the collaboration between the government and the IOM was expanded to include a youth volunteer project initiative, which allows young re-migrants to serve Guyana in various sectors. A comprehensive migration policy is being drafted to specify how persons should be treated upon their return, so as to ensure that they are not marginalised.
To make other services more accessible, the ministry will be working closely with the Guyana Registration Officer (GRO) to help re-migrants address issues related to birth and marriage certificates.
Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Two, Devanand Ramdatt, said the meeting was organised to engage re-migrants and listen to their concerns and devise solutions.
Some of the re-migrants told the Guyana Chronicle that most of their difficulties relate to finding jobs, translating their documents, finding accommodation, and also to having food for themselves.
Programme Coordinator of IOM to Guyana, Monserrat Hernandez, said the organisation is partnering with Blossom Inc. to help re-migrants and Venezuelans to access counselling, accommodation, and also packages, on a short-time basis.
