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PPP/C govt. shared out diplomatic passports “willy-nilly” – Official

Aug 13, 2015 News

A clampdown in the issuance of diplomatic passports has started, with the new administration indicating that the issuance was widely abused in the past.
According a senior Government official of the Ministry of the Presidency, it is believed that more than 300 of the passports were in circulation leading up to the May 11 General and Regional Elections. With a change in Government after the polls, the new administration had issued a public call for the passports to be given up.
The passports were issued to ministers, diplomats, senior government officials, their spouses and children. It was learnt that even some business executives were the recipients.
Kaieteur News was told yesterday that almost half of the 300 diplomatic passports that were in circulation should never have been.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge, had issued a public call for the passports, in the hands of a number of former ministers and government officials, to be returned. However, it appears that not much headway is being made.
The administration is now saying that it does not rule out publishing the names of the persons who are refusing to heed the public call.
Fears have been expressed that those extra diplomatic passports have also led to an abuse of the VIP Lounge at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
In January, in a seemingly unrelated incident, a Canadian couple was reportedly found with a significant quantity of cocaine after using the VIP Lounge. They apparently used documents purportedly issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry and presented by a former personal assistant to a Government minister, to airport officials.
It was reported that the couple claimed that they were relatives of the government official.
At least one former Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, has said that she has turned in her passport.

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