The Government is paving the way for ‘Integration of Venezuelans’

Dear Editor,
This is a very good move by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, that is, to integrate Venezuelan migrants into Guyana’s formal economy. It speaks well for the country, as migration overall has been the focus of many intense political debates in recent years, as most people have positive perceptions about immigrants, amidst a few misconceptions and concerns.
For example, some are still locked into the notion that migrants are a burden on economies. However, in the April 2020 World Economic Outlook, it is demonstrated that the economic impact of migration on recipient countries is “… that migration generally improves economic growth and productivity in host countries”.
I was surprised but quite pleased that there are somewhere between “… 28,000 to 40,000 Venezuelan migrants residing in Guyana,” and the country’s Ministry of Labour is facilitating their transition into the legal economy.” This is not going to be overnight, as it will involve “… addressing key issues such as training and development, health and safety opportunities and education on local labour laws”.
But it is a start, and apart from the economic aspect, the initiative shows that Guyana is on par with international ‘best practices’ as regards immigration issues, especially when it comes to respecting and safeguarding the well-being and dignity of all kinds of people.
In terms of making the requisite transition, and doing so right across the board, host leaders with their organisations will be teaming up with the Minister of Labour. Some of these are Natecia Garraway, Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the Board of Industrial Training (BIT); Juan Francisco Espinosa, Special Advisor to the International Organisation of Migration (IOM); Maria-Alexandra Bassermann, Regional Labour, Mobility and Social Inclusion Coordinator IOM-UN; and Eraina Yaw, Deputy Regional Coordination Officer for the Caribbean and Chief of Mission for Guyana. When the process is truly on, according to Hamilton, “… such engagements will ensure that the migrants become an essential part of the formal economy which will allow them to have access to education and other social services”.
In some respects, a lot of stuff, pro-immigrant, are ongoing, as the Ministry explained, pointing out that in terms of programmes and training for the enhancement of migrants, we (the Government) hope to do more with support from international partners … (and) the pledge is one of the Government of Guyana’s support to partner with both parties to address this matter in a meaningful way.”
Editor, for immigration to play a positive role and to be accepted by the host country, in this case, Guyana, immigrants and their children must be well and fully integrated into the economy and society at large, ranging from employment to housing, Medicare, safety, education and whatever else is necessary to a life of worth.
The reverse is true, that is, when it comes to any form of discrimination against immigrants and their descendants, it remains a key barrier to their economic and social inclusion. It also threatens social cohesion and has strong economic costs to the host countries.
Let me add that the statistics are there to confirm that around one-third of highly educated immigrants who are employed in any of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries are formally overqualified for their jobs. Groups that face particularly high overqualification rates are immigrants with foreign degrees, refugees, as well as recent arrivals. Overqualification often represents a waste of human capital and can lead to lower motivation among migrant workers. My point then is that Guyana has human capital residing in these Venezuelans, and it is good to note that the country is aware of it, and will utilise it.
Guyana then is positively answering the question of how can destination countries enhance the contribution of immigration to development. It is by investing in these immigrants’ integration.
Developing countries must not cheat themselves by lacking comprehensive policies to facilitate the integration of immigrants, as this can generate serious problems of social cohesion and reduce immigrants’ ability to contribute to the development of their host. Guyana is on a good pathway, and must not waver. After all, immigrants (many Guyanese for sure) contribute to the US economy in many ways. They work at high rates and make up more than a third of the workforce in some industries. Their geographic mobility helps local economies respond to worker shortages, smoothing out bumps that could otherwise weaken the economy.

Yours truly,
HB Singh