GUYANA-US Congress members to mount a mission to Guyana

WASHINGTON DC, CMC – The need for Indo and Afro-Guyanese to benefit from Guyana’s economy was discussed during a meeting with President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Democratic Minority Leader Congressman Hakeem Jeffries on Saturday.

In a statement, Jeffries said other critical issues were also discussed – “including regional and energy security, the climate crisis and the importance of an inclusive society in Guyana that involved full economic participation and civic engagement by Guyanese-Africans and Guyanese-Indians.”

However, this contradicts an account by Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud, who said nothing about inclusion had been raised in those talks.

“We will continue to encourage the government and the opposition to work together to ensure that all Guyanese citizens, regardless of race or ethnicity, benefit from the economic growth underway in the South American nation,” said Jeffries.

Jeffries also said that he and other House Members will visit Guyana to talk with the opposition.

“In the next few weeks, a delegation of House Members, myself included, will meet with leaders of the Guyanese opposition party to continue our dialogue about the opportunities and challenges confronting the Republic of Guyana and other nations within the African diaspora in the Western Hemisphere,” he said.

The Democratic Minority Leader said the members of Congress also “discussed electoral reform, strengthening democratic institutions, and the need to bolster access to banking and financial services in the Caribbean region.”

The opposition has been demanding that Guyana’s Constitution be amended to allow for fresh house-to-house registration and for the law to permit the use of biometric verification of voters at polling stations. A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change said those changes would reduce voter impersonation and multiple voting in the names of deceased persons and emigrants.

Meanwhile, several opposition-aligned organizations, including the Caribbean Guyana Institute Democracy, are spearheading the holding of a conference in the Guyana later this month.

Jeffries is expected to address that two-day event.
The largely Indo-backed Guyana government has repeatedly denounced claims of racial discrimination against Afro-Guyanese.