The APNU+AFC Administration remains concerned about the influx of over 5,000 Venezuelans, especially when it considers the fact that the donor support thus far to address the issue remains insufficient. This is according to Finance Minister Winston Jordan.
During an exclusive interview with the Guyana Standard recently, Jordan said that this state of affairs may see the government diverting significant funds to the issue if donor support does not pick up.
The economist said, “It is a concern for the government because let us be blunt about it; the influx of migrants is occurring in a region, that is, Region One, which has scarce resources and a limited capacity to deal with the numbers coming in. You are aware that there is a disconnect between the hinterland and the coast and there is pressure to deal with daily life under normal circumstances. Now with this influx, it is going to be worse.”
Jordan added, “And you also have to acknowledge that this is uncontrolled migration because you don’t know who is coming in and what they are bringing in terms of health issues…so we are very concerned about this.”
The Finance Minister said that the government has appealed for help but it has not been coming in sufficient quantities to address the matter at hand. He said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had raised this issue during its last meeting here, was appreciative of this fact.
Further to this, the Finance Minister confirmed that the Contingencies Fund has not been touched to address this issue. He noted, however, that there has been the reallocation of resources from the Ministries of Health, Communities, Education, Security, Presidency, and Infrastructure.
