Guyana to speed up passport issuance in US, improve consular services

Last Updated on Monday, 15 June 2015, 1:46 by GxMedia

Coverage courtesy Fly Jamaica

Plans are in train to speed up the issuance of passports to Guyanese living in the United States (US) and that consular services would be decentralised, according to a top official government official.

Minister of State in the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon gave the assurance to thousands of Guyanese at an APNU+AFC victory rally in Brooklyn, New York. “It takes too long for a Guyanese to get a passport here in the United States,” he said to a loud round of applause.

That has to change and we are going to give clear instructions that that is too long and we are not going to accept that,” he said.

He also announced that Guyanese would eventually have greater access to consular services. “We will have to bring more of our Consular services to the people where they live so in that regard we would have to make some changes,” said Harmon. Changes envisaged include ensuring that the Consular Offices are in close to areas heavily populated by Guyanese and are properly staffed.

The Minister of State those were examples of change that Guyanese voted in the majority for at the May 11, 2015 polls.

The Minister of State challenged organizers to hold the next victory rally in Queens to target East Indo-Guyanese in Queen’s to cater for East Indo Guyanese in Richmond Hill and Liberty Ave. “We have to send a clear message to the enemies of unity, to the detractors of unity in this nation, that that belongs to the past. We have to celebrate this unity that we have and all of Guyana must celebrate with us,” he said.

The majority of attendees at Sunday’s rally were Afro-Guyanese.