Pres Ali to diaspora: ‘Come home’

Guyanese living abroad are being encouraged to return home and contribute to the nation’s development.

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has noted that the country’s growth curve is different.

The Guyanese leader made the plea during a sit-down conversation at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston, Texas.

The president was candid about where Guyana currently stands. He explained that salaries have risen sharply, in some cases by thousands of per cent. However, the country cannot yet rival what places like Qatar or the United Arab Emirates (UAE) pay top professionals.

To put it in plain terms for younger professionals, President Ali noted that a doctor five years into their career who returns may save roughly the same amount.

“Your opportunity to advance in Guyana and the pace at which your income will develop and advance, will be far different from what can happen here in the next 10 years,” he reasoned. “It is that honest conversation that is needed to allow you to make a decision.”

He also pointed to the labour shortage, explaining that the nation does not have enough workers to meet the development pace. The diaspora, on the other hand, is uniquely placed to fill that gap.

In addition to careers, President Ali said the government is moving to give diaspora members a direct financial stake in that growth.

“We are already on a path of launching a few important projects of national importance for national security that we believe that they can invest in with a very good return,”he said. “I think that is what is exciting for them.”

Several national projects are open for investment, including a gas bottling plant and fertiliser facility in Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD), both tied to the gas-to-energy (GTE) project.

The government is offering a guaranteed 10 per cent annual return on both, with expressions of interest due by May 15.