Remove irritants for smooth international flow of traffic to Guyana

Dear Editor,
My family and I left for Guyana on August 26, 2024. Our visit was not that of a vacation, but rather to carry out four separate humanitarian projects in Guyana.
On travelling with American Airlines 737 to conduct these projects, I had opportunity to examine the Customs and Immigration form issued by the Guyanese authorities. The wording, especially on the Customs side of the form, is so fine that it strains the eyes to read. Not only that, with Guyana moving into the technological era, one would have thought that this form should have been available on line for travellers to complete. This measure would save much time, speed up the processing of passengers, and reduce irritants.
Passengers spend much time to line up for security check, to board the aircraft (25-30 mins), to get out of the aircraft (15-20 mins), and then wait in a long line (35-45 mins) to pass through Immigration and Customs). Of course, the diplomats and VIPs don’t have to endure these frustrating moments.
I had previously addressed this issue about two months ago, when I sent the Ministry of Works a request to consider the creation of an online form similar to the Electronic G5 Customs and Immigration form of Jamaica. They promised to examine this matter, but I have since not heard anything. Whether this has been accorded any priority is hard to tell.
I am therefore calling on the Minister of Works and the Minister of Home Affairs to give serious consideration to this irritant, and move to make travel less cumbersome.
The travelling public would be delighted if international travel flows smoothly. And this should not be a difficult project to implement (convert Customs & Immigration paper form to a digital one). Guyana’s modern economy deserves no less.

Sincerely,
Dr Tara Singh