Latest update January 30th, 2025 6:10 AM
Latest News
Govt. to spend $500M to shelter Venezuelan migrants
Kaieteur News – President Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Thursday said that his government has set aside $500M to build a shelter for Venezuelan migrants. The President made this disclosure at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Building Expo being held at the Guyana National Stadium.
“We’ve already set aside $500 million dollars in Supplementary (funds) to build a proper shelter for those migrants who are squatting on sea defences and other places,” Ali said during his feature address. The President was at the time speaking about the demand for housing in the country.
According to Ali, the influx of Venezuelan migrants in the country has added to that demand.
President Mohamed Irfaan Ali
Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had noted this too in a press conference he held earlier on Thursday. Jagdeo said that the government cannot have the Venezuelans squatting “all over the place”.
In 2021, a United Nations (UN) refugee agency (UNHCR) reported that over 24,000 Venezuelan migrants are living in Guyana. That number is expected to have increased by thousands.
An overhead photograph taken in 2019 of Venezuelan migrants squatting along the Grove Sea Dam on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).
An exodus occurred in Venezuela during 2012-2013 after the country’s economy crashed, plunging it into a major crisis. Venezuela is Guyana’s neighbour to the west and many of its citizens fled to Guyana during the economic crisis. Over time, many of the migrants have been squatting along the country’s sea dams.
In 2019, Kaieteur News reported that scores of Venezuelans were squatting along the Grove, East Bank Demerara (EBD) Sea Dam.
To address the situation, the then Coalition government had said that it would relocate all of them to the North West District, Region One.
Then Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, was quoted as saying that they would have been sheltered in the former National Service Training Centre at Papaya, a village just on the outskirts of Matthews Ridge, North West District, Region One.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
The third parties will not survive this year’s elections
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- The fate of third parties in this year’s general and regional elections is as predictable... more
OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus
Antiguan Barbudan Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The upcoming election... more
Weekend Cartoon
