Dear Editor,
It comes as no surprise that the Appeals Court upheld the High Court ruling that parliamentarians who hold Dual Citizenship sit in violation of article 155(1)(a) of the Constitution of Guyana. This article is explicitly clear, though it has long been ignored by political parties in parliament.
On a recent TV programme, Carib Nation, with host Paul Tennassee, recorded in the US, I expressed the view that article 155(1)(a) should be repealed. It is my fervent belief that this article which restricts MPs with dual citizenship from serving in Parliament and as Ministers in the government does a disservice to Guyana, and I am glad to see that the Alliance for Change (AFC) holds this position also. One has to be cognizant of the fact that Guyana as a small society has suffered massive brain drain over the years, which has contributed to a serious skills deficit and this has also contributed to the continued underdevelopment.
The Guyanese diaspora has a deep reservoir of skills and experience to be tapped. There are many qualified individuals from Guyana who have tremendous experience working at the highest levels of decision making in large organizations, governmental and non-governmental with specific skill sets, who can benefit Guyana. Many of these individuals are willing to return and serve at the highest level. This can bring skills and ideas to the society, which is lacking. It is without question that many of these types of experiences and skills do not exist in Guyana. It is also without question that many of the young people, who lack the exposure can benefit from working under these highly skilled individuals. For instance, it is a great disservice and a grave loss for Guyana to not have Carl Greenidge, with his skills, experience and exquisite qualifications serving at the highest level of Government because of his dual citizenship status.
Guyanese in the diaspora who would’ve migrated to various societies in search of economic opportunities, in many cases still hold loyalty and allegiance to their country of birth, Guyana. Having lived in these foreign societies, citizenship is an economic security, and renouncing it, as in the case with the US, may have certain tax and other implications depending on the individual’s net worth which they spent a lifetime building up. Additionally, qualified Guyanese who would’ve worked and lived in a developed society also bring the ethics of his or her profession and acquired high net worth which in many cases may serve to reduce the incentive to be corrupt.
Many societies both developed and developing have allowed persons with dual citizenship to serve in parliament and even as President. In the US, Senator Ted Cruz who was born in Canada only recently renounced his Canadian citizenship when he decided to run for President, as only natural born citizens can be President of the United States, but no such restriction exists in the US Senate or House. Germany’s European parliamentarian, David McAlister holds both British and German citizenship and was once seen as a successor to Angela Merkel. Canada has no restriction on dual citizens serving in the House of Commons. In fact, John Turner, Canada’s former Prime Minister held dual citizenship, British and Canadian. Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed is a citizen of Somalia and the United States. Liberia’s former head of state Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has German and Liberian citizenship. All these people served their countries dutifully. So, the point I am making here is that it is not uncommon for societies to allow persons with dual citizens to serve in Government and in parliament.
Notwithstanding, Guyana is at a crossroad, in terms of development with its recent oil discoveries and potential increase in investments, which will no doubt lead to rapid infrastructure and other developments. As such, Guyana will need skills, ideas and experiences. The skills, ideas and experiences reside in the Guyanese diaspora, an area that has shouldered the burden of a large part of Guyana’s development over the years, through direct investments and remittances.
In a country like where Government controls a large portion of the means of production and the determination of who gets what and how, being able to access the best skills from people who are already Guyanese can only be a benefit to Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Dennis Wiggins
