AS Guyana’s modernisation process picks up momentum, the necessity of engaging Guyanese, both locally and in the diaspora, becomes all the more imperative.
With a relatively small population, and a sizeable land mass spanning 210,000 square kilometers, development can be challenging, especially given our geographic configuration where the vast majority of our population live on a comparatively tiny coastal plain.
This is why the country needs the support of everyone to contribute to its development. For reasons dating back since the dark period of PNC dictatorial rule, Guyana has lost a significant number of its people to migration, many of whom took with them valuable technical and developmental skills.
It is no exaggeration to state that Guyana, during that period, experienced a severe brain-drain, the impact of which is still being felt to this day.
There was, however, no loss of love or care for the country of their birth by Guyanese in the Diaspora.
Many of them yearn for the day when they could permanently return home to enjoy the warmth of the Guyanese sunshine, and, for that matter, the society as a whole. They continue to pay keen attention to developments at home, with unmatched passion and intensity.
The PPP/C administration, for its part, is doing everything within its power to engage the Diaspora in the country’s developmental agenda. During a recent engagement with the Guyanese Diaspora in St. Lucia on the sidelines of the 51st Meeting of the Conference of Heads of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), President Ali announced plans to take a range of government services directly to Guyanese living overseas.
According to the President, the initiative forms part of a broader effort to strengthen ties with the Diaspora while ensuring they play an active role in shaping the country’s future.
Among the several initiatives announced is the rolling out of mobile government service teams to countries with large Guyanese populations making it easier for citizens abroad to access government services.
The initiative, according to President Ali, will begin in St. Lucia, where a biometric passport team is expected soon to facilitate passport applications and other related services.
It is a fact that a growing number of eligible overseas Guyanese are benefitting from initiatives taken by the PPP/C administration to enhance their conditions of life, such as the one-off cash-grants, old age pensions, and NIS entitlements, which were not accessible under the previous PNC administration.
These are indeed significant developments for which the PPP/C administration must be given full credit. Guyanese living overseas are no longer on the periphery of the country’s development agenda, but are now active participants in this exciting task of nation-building.
The digitisation of government services, with emphasis on efficiency, is now touching the lives of Guyanese both in Guyana and abroad.
A new digital Guyana is emerging where it is now possible to access services from the confines of one’s home.
These initiatives are creating new opportunities, both in term of personal transactions and business opportunities. As noted by President Ali, Guyana’s rapid transformation has elevated its international profile, resulting in increased investor confidence and stakeholder interest.
The prospects for a more prosperous and inclusive Guyana have never been better. The country is now on the cusp of a new era of transformation and modernisation, driven by the application of cutting-edge technologies and electronic forms of governance.
