Govt to take services overseas with annual diaspora outreach

…as Pres Ali hints at extending free UG online to diaspora

The Guyana Government is looking to deploy a team of representatives from the various Government services agencies for an annual outreach to countries where there is a large Guyanese diaspora.

This announcement was made by President Dr Irfaan Ali during a recent engagement with the Guyanese Diaspora in St Lucia.
The Guyanese Head of State, who had travelled to the Caribbean island to attend the 51st CARICOM Heads of Government Conference in St Lucia, told the diaspora there that the Government recognises the challenges being faced when it comes to accessing certain services back in Guyana, such as passport renewals and replacement of other documentation.
While the President revealed plans to send a team to the island nation on July 11 for five days to deal with whatever issues persons have there, he also outlined a long-term solution to service Guyanese living abroad.
“What we want to do at least once every year in the beginning is to take the mobile Government service across every country where we have large diaspora. So, we can service that diaspora with one unit, whether it’s NIS (National Insurance Scheme), birth certificate, replacement of any document – all of these things,” President Ali indicated.

Digitisation efforts
According to the Guyanese leader, the Government has been working on digitising many of its services. This came as the diaspora members lauded the work the Guyanese Government has been doing, including technology advancements.
In fact, one person, while commending the digitisation efforts and the shift to embracing innovation, raised concerns that this move poses risks, such as the misplacing of information. Another issue highlighted is the tedious task of having to travel back to Guyana to deal with some certain transactions.
But President Ali explained that while his Government is working on addressing some of these bottlenecks, there are some requirements which, in the long term, would allow for easier access, especially by the diaspora.
“You ask, for example, why you have to come in the country to do certain things. If you want an EU visa and you never had one before and there’s not a centre in your country, you have to go to Trinidad to do the biometrics. That is because we are now building out the system. And the system requires your biometrics. So, once you get your biometrics one time in the system, then it’s there in the system forever,” the Guyanese leader explained.
Additionally, systems were put in place by the President to have persons register their issues at Tuesday’s engagement event and committed to having responses by the following day. This, he explained, would be bolstered by support services offered by the Diaspora Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as well as new features like the CitizensConnect App.
“You will have direct contact with the Diaspora Unit going forward now so that they will be able to interact with you on your issues. So, if you have a problem, you will shoot the Diaspora Unit an email, and they’ll be able to direct you. And now you can also use CitizenConnect…so you can connect directly now to the Government. You don’t have to call anybody [or make] a hundred phone calls. There’s one platform called CitizenConnect”, the Guyanese leader noted.

Education access
Meanwhile, during Tuesday’s engagement, President Ali shared with the diaspora the remarkable transformation taking place across Guyana and the unprecedented opportunities being created in every sector, while encouraging them to return home to invest and actively participate in the country’s continued development.
“We are working towards positioning Guyana as a world-class health hub, energy hub, environmental services hub, and food security hub. And we are moving leaps and bounds,” he assured.
The President also went on to outline advancements made in sectors such as health and education. In fact, he pointed out that thousands are benefitting from the GOAL Scholarship Programme, which gives access to 42 global institutions, as well as the shift to teachers’ training online.
In addition, the Head of State noted too that his Government has made tertiary education at the University of Guyana free of charge – something he says they are now looking to extend to the diaspora.
“We are building this infrastructure not only for Guyanese; many persons in the region are benefiting… And we want to be able also to move the position where our online platform at the University of Guyana can be available to our diaspora wherever they are. So, your children can go online, and whatever programmes you have online, if it’s a degree in education, a degree in nursing, that you can also do that free of cost, like we offer in Guyana. That is what our ambition is, how we can build out this to meet and service our diaspora,” President Ali indicated.