Guyana govt approves private sector recruitment of foreign health-care workers; not limited to Bangladeshis- Todd

Last Updated on Monday, 25 March 2024, 11:10 by Denis Chabrol

Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd.

Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd on Monday confirmed that government has given approval to a private company to hire health care workers, and said that the company could now do so from any other country not just Bangladesh.

“They have amended that…It can be Latin America and the Caribbean, it could be Asia. It is broad now so they are allowed to recruit now from any jurisdiction where they can find the labour that is necessary for their operation,” he said, adding that there would be due diligence to ensure the people match the skills that are needed.

His explanation followed concerns by the opposition coalition of A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) that government was facilitating the hiring of Bangladeshis as part of a plot to pad the voters list for the 2025 general and regional elections.

The Foreign Ministry, in correspondence dated February 5, 2024, authorised Sigma Engineers L.T.D. Inc of 225 New Market Street, North Cummingsburg, Georgetown to recruit 500 Bangladeshi health-care workers for employment and liaise with relevant authorities concerning their recruitment.

But, Mr Todd on Tuesday said that letter was amended about one week ago weeks ago to allow the company to hire workers from Latin America and elsewhere to satisfy labour demand. “What the Sigma group would have done is that they have broadened their search so I think they are using Bangladeshis… I think they have broadened their position so they are dealing with nationals so that they can move freely to different locations,” he said.

He said the workers were not going to be hired for the government health sector. “No one is hiring for the government of Guyana. People are hiring for their own private capacity. The government of Guyana isn’t hiring,” he said.

“We are short of labour so government has allowed for private sets of organisations and firms to recruit from those markets that possess the requisite skills and character that they are looking for because of the need for skills so we would give endorsements from time to time to private sector organisations to allow for recruitment,” he added.

The opposition has repeatedly accused government of discriminating against Haitians and nationals from African countries, claims that the People’s Progressive Party Civic administration have denied over the years.