A role for the diaspora in Guyana’s development

The potential of the Guyanese diaspora, and ways in which it can contribute to the country’s development have been subjects of much discussion in the past. More often than not, discussions have been centred on how we may encourage the hundreds of thousands of Guyanese living outside of Guyana to return and contribute to our country’s development. Guyana, no doubt, has a bright future ahead. Policies that are geared towards creating greater economic and social developmental opportunities for our citizens have already been implemented, and major ones are still in the pipeline. 

However, there is much more work to be done if our developmental potential is to be fully realised, and we all need to seriously get involved in the work still to be done. For sure, Guyanese in the homeland will not alone be able to push this level of development by themselves, because they are too few in number and do not possess all the skills required to undertake this massive task. 

There is certainly a shortage of skills in our country. Skills in various fields are badly needed, especially with the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) now being implemented. Over the years, Guyana has resorted to importing expats to work in our industries and other sectors; and most would know that hiring these expats comes with a high price tag. Moreover, their remuneration is repatriated, to our disadvantage. Interestingly, there are in the diaspora Guyanese with similar academic qualifications and skills, who are willing and ready to return home to serve. These are the people that should be encouraged to return home. 

To its credit, the administration is cognizant of this problem, and has already put systems in place to attract overseas-based Guyanese to return. Among the systems implemented is the remigrant scheme, which gives every Guyanese desirous of returning home an opportunity to be exempted from certain taxes etc. There are, of course, certain conditions that must be met in order to be eligible for these exemptions; and it should be pointed out that many Guyanese have already taken advantage of this facility. 

No doubt, there are many Guyanese in the diaspora who are mulling their return to Guyana, but they are unsure of the start-over process. It is understandable that they would want to know how the system caters for their return. For example: how they can access a plot of land and build a new house, and how they can secure employment – all of which will help their resettlement to be less stressful. They would, quite naturally, have accumulated certain assets and personal items in the land of their sojourn; and would want to know how many of these can be sent to Guyana without incurring too many expenses, or having to subject themselves to too much hassle. While the government has put systems in place to address these issues, many foreign-based Guyanese are still not aware of them; and perhaps an awareness drive, carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the foreign missions, will be of some help in this respect. We strongly suggest that the government sends out its people to listen to these groups of stakeholders, and then work towards bringing them home. 

Further, most would agree that the focus should be on the more mature generation – those with readily available assets and finances to continue their lives and make investments in Guyana. Many Guyanese are hard-hit in North America; and not only that, many claim to have missed the Guyanese culture of warmth and hospitality which, they say, is found nowhere else in the world. 

Finally, even though much is still to be achieved, Guyana has, no doubt, reached a new level of realizing its national developmental objectives. We commend the government and other stakeholders for the efforts that they are making, and we urge those in the diaspora to take full advantage of the new and exciting investment opportunities that are available in the country.  The time is ripe for the government to reach out to the Guyanese diaspora, because, right now, the diaspora is realising that there is no place like home.