Dear Editor,
It is with interest and enthusiasm that we Guyanese read in your daily of the exciting future we are now entering into. The future (if not the present) is full of excitement on the developments in our country. Our 56 years since independence is full of hope – if not excitement – at the transition into a major oil producing country and the development that will bring to our economy and our daily lives and our status as a Caribbean citizen.
An example of that is the decision by British Airways to have from March next year a twice weekly flight to the UK – Guyana – St Lucia – UK using a Boeing 777 200R catering for 323 passengers per flight. That is up to 1292 passengers per week. This of course will have a major impact on our tourist industry and economy. The British High Commissioner, Jane Miller, was of course party to the announcement by Minister of Public Works, Juan Edgehill. Yes, exciting times ahead. Now this in the context of Guyanese (accompanied by Jamaicans) as the only Caribbeans that cannot jump on the new service or board a plane to the UK without a Visa.
Yes, we need to go thorough the time consuming and expensive process of applying for a visa with the process of supplying documentary evidence that you have sufficient funds to support yourself in the UK. Another discriminatory situation that we Guyanese are subject to is holding a non-Guyanese currency bank account in any of the International Banks that operates here. Yes, you can have a USD account but only if you are not Guyanese or an officer of a registered company in Guyana. WHY WHY WHY.
So we Guyanese are / have progressed into the most developed country in the Caribbean and we are discriminated by the system of no travel to the UK without a Visa and no USD Bank Account. So, hopefully the British High Commissioner – Jane Miller – will take note of the discriminatory policy by the UK on Guyanese, and the Government would take note of the unique discrimination against Guyanese of the holding of bank accounts.
Sincerely.
Peter Douglas
