The government has flagged the influx of immigrants as a potential risk to the economy. Elaborating on this point was the Finance Ministry in its 2019 Half Year Report. In that document, it noted that the influx of immigrants has the potential of crowding-out employment of local workers across several sectors, creating pressure in the labour market.
Additionally, the ministry said that this influx has created and continues to create additional demands on the Treasury as the government seeks to ensure that appropriate systems are in place to register migrants, especially Venezuelans, so that they have access to basic social services.
It was further noted that the government, through the Multi-Agency Coordinating Committee for Migration, continues to monitor the situation closely in order to assess and address potential socio-economic threats and risks.
To date, more than 5,000 Venezuelans have fled to Guyana in light of the harsh economic circumstances that prevail in their homeland.
During an exclusive interview with the Guyana Standard recently, Finance Minister Winston Jordan had said that this state of affairs may see the government diverting significant funds to the issue if donor support does not pick up.
The Finance Minister had 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.
