Harmon needs to take several seats back

VICE-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Oneidge Walrond is a non-politician who renounced her US citizenship to serve her country, and has described recent commentary about her citizenship as “a storm in a teacup”.

The Opposition has criticised the legality of the minister’s appointment as a Member of Parliament, accusing her of being a US citizen when she was sworn in as a Government minister.
Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs had confirmed that Minister Walrond lost her United States (US) citizenship “immediately” upon taking an Oath of Renunciation.
The Clerk also publicly revealed that Walrond’s certificate of loss of nationality was approved on September 8, 2020, by Consular Section Chief of the US Embassy, Karen K. Wiebelhaus.
Minister Walrond was not a candidate for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in the March 02, 2020 elections, but was selected to be a technocrat minister, which basically means that she has no voting power in the National Assembly.

Jagdeo, during a press conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) on Friday said many people do not want to give up anything to serve their country, but a non-politician like Oneidge Walrond did, and it should be commended.

“I think it’s a storm in a teacup; she has explained why already. She did not commit fraud,” Jagdeo said when questioned about the minister.
Jagdeo explained that Minister Walrond did not sign a declaration form as is done upon submission of the parties’ list to the Guyana Elections Commission, and she did not mislead the country like others who were found to be illegal in the National Assembly.

“Harmon (Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon) out of every person in the world should be the last person to talk about this, because had it not been for Charandass, then they would have never left the National Assembly,” he said.

The Vice-President said the minister received the certificate of her renunciation a few days after her appointment.

GREAT SACRIFICE
“A person who came in as a technocrat; a great sacrifice to do this. And that is the big issue. What about the persons transferring thousands of acres of people’s lands, and nobody pays attention to it. But Oneidge Walrond, who collected her certificates two days late, is a big issue in the country now?” Jagdeo questioned.
He continued: “We have to defend decent people who are trying to work.”

U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Officer, Violeta Talandis has clarified that renunciation of one’s citizenship becomes official once a person appears before the Consular Officer, requesting such under the Immigration and Naturalisation Act, Section 349(a)(5).

Walrond, an attorney by profession, said she was asked by President Irfaan Ali, on August 5, 2020, to serve as a member of his Cabinet; an offer which she said she accepted, because it afforded her the opportunity to serve the people of Guyana.

“As an attorney-at-law, and being mindful of my status as a U.S. citizen, I sought the counsel of other attorneys on whether the sections of the Constitution prohibiting elected members from being dual citizens applied to me as a technocrat minister.

“Despite advice that this provision did not extend to technocrats, out of an abundance of caution, I decided to renounce my citizenship, to put the matter beyond all doubt and avoid any distraction to the good work of the Government,” said Minister Walrond.

According to the Tourism Minister, she wrote the U.S. Consular Office on August 18, 2020, renouncing herself of citizenship to that country, with immediate effect.
“I was thereof informed of the administrative procedure I must comply with to obtain a Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States. I complied with that process by August 27,” said the minister.

After completing the process, Minister Walrond said she was issued a Certificate of Loss of Nationality, prior to taking the oath to serve as a parliamentarian.
The issue of dual citizenship came up in 2019, after former member of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Charrandas Persaud, crossed the floor in favour of the then Opposition PPP/C in a No-Confidence Motion against the APNU+AFC Government in December 2018.

Following legal challenges, the Court of Appeal ruled that a person holding dual citizenship was not entitled to be a member of the National Assembly.
Walrond said she was disappointed to see the extent to which persons on social media sought to attack and vilify each other, as they took positions on the issue. Those persons were encouraged to raise their standard of interaction, as it will fortify cohesion and promote unity in Guyana.