Months prior to the May 11 general elections which saw APNU/AFC coalition assume office President David Granger, in his capacity as leader of the opposition coalition had taken his campaign to the diaspora, asserting his belief that it was to that constituency that a new political administration would have to look to recruit much of the skills necessary to plan and execute a national development programme.
The available evidence suggests that there has been an encouraging response to the signals sent by the new administration to qualified and in many instances well-positioned Guyanese in the diaspora. Recently a number of United States-based professionals including economists and business experts have travelled to Guyana to engage local public and private sector officials and to articulate their thoughts on “strategies to jump start and promote economic development in Guyana.” Indeed, two weeks ago, newly elected Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Major General (rtd) Norman McLean told this newspaper that experienced and qualified Guyanese in the diaspora are expected to form part of the planning and execution team for a national economic forum scheduled to be held in September.
Last week, Stabroek Business was given access to a four-page document to which a number of Guyanese professionals living and working in the diaspora have affixed their signatures and which, this newspaper understands, is intended to form the basis of discourses with the President on government’s economic plans and programmes and the role that the diaspora can play in their realization. The document, this newspaper understands, is also likely to help shape the agenda for the forthcoming national economic forum that is currently engaging the attention of the PSC.
Apart from outlining a range of strategies designed to promote economic development, the document “strongly recommends” an extensive job-skills training programme that targets, primarily though not exclusively, the health sector, the implementation of a