With the latest United States Travel Advisory continuing to list Guyana as a country in which visitors must exercise increased caution when visiting, Ministry of the Presidency Director General Joseph Harmon yesterday maintained that the country is safe and said the negative label can hurt both future travel and investments.
“Advisories are advisories and its advice to the citizens of a country from their government. It is not something we can say we are happy about because every time an advisory comes out, people think twice about travelling to your country. They think twice about if it is a good time to invest. Is it a good time to do this? Is it a good time to do that?” Harmon told a post-Cabinet press briefing when asked about government’s view on the US travel advisory, which was issued on May 29th.
“So we cannot say that we are ever happy at all about advisories that speak towards the security of our state and affects the way in which people makes decisions to travel to our country,” he added.
The US State Department on Thursday updated its travel advisory on Guyana, stating that it was “Reissued after periodic review without changes.” Guyana is again listed as a Level 2 country, the same position held when the advisory was issued on January 10th last year.
There are four respective levels issued by the U.S government for every country in the world and the information on specific countries can be found of the State Department’s website.
Level 1 states that travelers should exercise normal precautions, while Level 2 advises to exercise increased caution. Level 3 advises the US traveler to reconsider their travel, while Level 4 states “Do not Travel.”
The US asks its citizens before planning travel to check the country’s advisories for their intended destination.
Harmon sought to assure US and other travelers that the police here are equipped to handle issues identified in the advisory.
“We believe that our police officers and men are suitably equipped and staffed to take care of these issues. From the level of the Cabinet I wish to give the assurance to all of our citizens, including those persons who are abroad and making decisions to travel to Guyana: Guyana is a safe place. It’s a safe place to live, it is a safe place to work, it’s a safe place to invest and that is the word I wish to give to all persons who are thinking twice because of the advisory,” Harmon said.
‘Full confidence’
Meanwhile, the Guyana Police Force came in for high praise from government yesterday through Harmon for its work and particularly its handling of armed confrontations with six criminals in the last three weeks.
“I think the Guyana Police Force is now better led. It is a better cadre of senior officers, a better cadre of intelligence officers who are now ensuring that police operations are intelligence-led and intelligence driven. So the gangs which use to operate—it is the intelligence which is provided to the police that has allowed them to confront gangs. The Guyana Police Force, I would wish to say, that the government has the full confidence in them to deal with crime in this country. From the government’s standpoint, we have every confidence in our police officers to be able to bring and keep crime under control and to deal with serious criminals when they emerge,” Harmon stated.
On Thursday night, three armed bandits were shot dead at Norton Street, Lodge after police swiftly responded to an armed robbery at the home of a construction worker. The area was transformed into a battle zone, with bullets flying for more than an hour. The three men were known to the police.
Two weeks ago, another trio was killed in the Johanna, Black Bush Polder backlands and residents of Berbice believe they were a part of a gang responsible for a spate of robberies on the Corentyne over the past month.
However, in the capital Georgetown, there continues to be a number of unsolved petty crimes where persons are robbed of mostly cellphones and personal effects. The downtown bus park is among the hotbeds for such attacks.
During the recent Guyana Carnival events, a number of persons, both locals and foreigners, bemoaned the lack of adequate security on the streets of the city, as revellers and patrons were robbed while going to or returning from events.
