—Minister Walrond reaffirms initiative aims to strengthen national security, modernise public services

Minister of Home Affairs Oneidge Walrond, has firmly rejected what she described as “false and misleading” claims circulating on social media regarding the new Electronic Identification (E-ID) cards, emphasising that they are aimed at strengthening national security, modernising public services and not for legitimising illegal migrants.

See full statement from the Minister below: 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐄-𝐈𝐃) 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝

I categorically reject the false and misleading statements circulating on social media regarding the issuance of the new 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐄-𝐈𝐃) 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝. These claims are misinformed, irresponsible, and clearly intended to create public confusion about a legitimate national security initiative.

As I stated during last evening’s press conference, the 𝐄-𝐈𝐃 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝 will be issued to both citizens and non-citizens. There will be an 𝐄-𝐈𝐃 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝 for Guyanese nationals and an 𝐄-𝐈𝐃 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 for migrants who meet the required legal criteria — such as those holding valid work permits.

The 𝐄-𝐈𝐃 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 is designed to ensure compliance with national regulations, including those of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), while also providing secure access to government and private sector services.

𝐄-𝐈𝐃 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 issued to non-citizens will remain valid only for the period of their approved legal stay, after which they automatically become invalid.

Attempts to portray the Government’s monitoring of foreign nationals as an effort to “legitimize illegal migrants” are entirely false. These statements are malicious, mischievous, and intended to sow public discord — tactics that serve the narrow interests of those who peddle misinformation.

The Government of Guyana remains firmly committed to 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲.

I urge all citizens to rely only on 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝, 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 and to reject divisive narratives that undermine national unity.