The status of Guyana as a country is about to change

Dear Editor,

The issue of dual citizenship has become a major hurdle for the smaller parties, more notably the United Republican Party, The Liberty and Justice Party and Change Guyana.
These parties were already highly challenged to come up with a full list of Candidates for the General and Regional elections and to now suffer the humiliation of having their candidates rejected by GECOM on Nomination Day must have be a matter of some frustration, if not embarrassment.

The Constitution of Guyana prohibits Guyanese who hold dual citizenship from becoming a Member of Parliament. This qualification was, for all practical purposes, honoured in the breach until the successful passage of a no-confidence Motion in December 1918. Several Government Ministers and other MPs were forced to resign following a Court ruling. A few have already renounced their dual citizenship status and some are in the process of so doing.

I congratulate all those who opted to give up their dual citizenship and opt to serve the country of their birth. This is a decision that no doubt requires some amount of trading off, but I am convinced that it is a noble and laudable decision. I have always held the view that the greatest of all service is service to one’s country, regardless of considerations of perceived benefits.

The status of Guyana as a country is about to change, hopefully for the better, thanks to our newly found oil and gas riches. All hands must be on board if we are to optimize the benefits of oil.

I salute all Guyanese here at home and in the diaspora on our new status as a petroleum state.

Hydar Ally