GPOC disputes birth claims of 350 Eteringbang residents

Dec 24, 2019 News

Residents of the mining community at Eteringbang, Region Seven, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, said that the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) is disputing their birth claims.

Mothers and their children awaiting medical attention at the Eteringbang Health Centre

Eteringbang residents waiting to be registered

Kaieteur News understands from a representative (name provided) of the community that there are 350 persons without birth certificates.
It was explained that these persons have been registered multiple times over the years.
According to the woman, GPOC is reluctant to issue birth certificates to residents because it believes that they are from neighbouring Venezuela, and not Guyana.
The woman said that there are persons who were born in Venezuela but a vast majority of the applicants were born in the community, in their camps and houses.
Only, two years ago Eteringbang benefited from a Health Centre.
Despite the presence of a Health Centre, Amerindian women continue to “deliver” their daughters and granddaughters at their homes.
The representative made it clear that residents were never bothered about the need of a birth certificate.

However, it has become an issue recently.
Parents were told to present birth certificates of their children as a requirement to enroll them in a Primary School scheduled to be in operation next year.
A worried resident said that her six-year-old daughter had been registered four times already and “is still without a birth certificate”.
“Tired of waiting”, she travelled to Georgetown in November to query and seek answers.
Surprisingly, the woman said that she was told by GPOC that the birth certificate cannot be issued because there is need for more information.
She claimed that GPOC demanded evidence of her daughter’s birthplace in the form of a “vaccine card [clinic card]”.
The woman explained that she was unable to present the “vaccine card” because “Eteringbang never had a medical facility until two years ago”.
According to the woman, she had given birth to her daughter in her house with the assistance of her mother.
The mother is greatly concerned that her daughter will not be able to attend the new school without her birth certificate.
Kaieteur News made efforts to contact the head of GPO yesterday but all attempts were in vain.

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