GEORGETOWN: The Guyana government says it is examining the possibility of establishing legal and institutional procedures that will assist nationals residing in the diaspora make a meaningful contribution to the development of the country.
Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge said there is a vast untapped potential in the Guyanese diaspora, and if one views each set of Guyanese living overseas as a “basket of resources”, then the role that the diaspora can play can be recognised and how local foreign policy might be fashioned to take advantage of it.
Greenidge said that the legal and institutional framework can be put in place to assist in this regard, as has been done in other countries such as Jamaica, India and Bangladesh where large communities of workers send remittances back to their native countries.
Greenidge acknowledged that Guyana’s remittance is very high, but noted that for the most part it “goes into consumption”.
He said other countries use the funds to create more income for those who invest in areas such as housing and other sectors of the economy.
He said that if a framework is provided to safely utilise the funds, more people in the diaspora would be willing to “safely put their money into Guyana”.
