Wooing the diaspora

By Jainarine Deonauth

There are perhaps a larger number of Guyanese settled outside of Guyana than those residing in the country. Guyanese can be found in some of the unlikeliest places all over the world. This mass exodus had started in the early 1960s under the Forbes Burnham dictatorship when the economy was facing total collapse; there were no proper jobs; social services were almost non-existent; and there was a sense of hopelessness all over the country. And of course that pattern continued under successive PNC, and to a lesser extent, PPP regimes.
Recently, we have seen the government undertaking a series of measures to woo the Guyanese diaspora to contribute to the development of their homeland, with the latest stop of government and other officials being Canada.
There is much the diaspora can do to help in moving our country forward once the necessary systems are put in place for them to do so. At the same time, however, any engagement with the diaspora must be two-dimensional; at the moment it is largely one- way. For example, for decades overseas-based Guyanese have been helping their relatives and friends back home by sending remittances, barrels, and other forms of assistance. They do this sometimes at great personal sacrifice, as they themselves are in very difficult situations abroad.
Further, many of these migrants and their children have worked themselves into the position to add another dimension to their contribution by way of skills and investment. We have seen a lot of them coming back to Guyana to invest their savings acquired over many years. All of this is good and will certainly complement government’s development efforts.
Now, the government in partnership with the International Office for Migration (IOM) has launched the Guyana Diaspora (GUYD) initiative which seeks to create a linkage between persons of Guyanese heritage abroad who are willing to return and contribute their skills and resources for the development of the country on a larger scale and in a more organised manner.
In our view, this programme is critical as it reflects the new strategic thinking on the migration issue, which has traditionally been viewed as a drain on the country. Like the government, we believe that this new approach seeks to constructively reframe the situation and capitalise on the fact that the diaspora is also an important pool of human capital, skills, and finance which can be utilised for the economic and social development of Guyana.
Already, the private sector have thrown their support behind the GUYD initiative and have asked that their vacancies, which require external skill sets be posted on the project’s website at some point.
Surely, there are many Guyanese in the diaspora, who are willing and ready to return and invest or work or even retire in their homeland, but do not know where or how to begin the process. There is no central agency where they can get information, or they get the run-around, or are caught up in red tape.
Hopefully, with this initiative now being implemented, the process would become smoother. The administration has already lured the diaspora with house lots in the new remigrant housing scheme. Also, other incentives such as duty-free concessions, etc. have been offered. This is a good start, and hopefully with time, other forms of support would be provided to ensure that those who are willing to return can do so with little or no hassle.
That being said, one area that the government can do more to assist is by putting the necessary measures in place to ensure that the Guyanese diaspora are given adequate representation in their adopted countries, and this must be beyond regular passport and consular services. In essence, the engagement with the diaspora must be two- dimensional so that it would be a win-win situation for both sides.