Sod turned for Linden/Region Ten Passport Office

Dec 31, 2017 News

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By Enid Joaquin
Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix, yesterday turned the sod for the Linden/Region Ten Passport Office at Retrieve, Linden.
On hand to witness the event were several Regional officials, including Regional Chairman, Rennis Morian; Mayor, Carwyn Holland; and Mayor-elect Wanneka Arrendell.
Felix said that after the Department was formed, President David Granger called him and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon. He said that the Head-of-State told them that throughout the campaign, persons had been approaching him about the hardships people suffered in obtaining passports.
The Minister said that overseas-based Guyanese were complaining that it was taking too long to acquire a passport and the local people were also complaining, about the long hours they had to spend at the passport office. “So we decided we had to fix this thing.”
Felix said that initially, immigration was dealing with 400 passports per day which soon swelled to 500, hence the long lines. Letters were written in the papers criticising the office.
He said that it soon became obvious that one passport office could not adequately deal with this increase. It was then decided that more equipment would be brought in to alleviate the situation.
Equipment arrived in August 2016, Felix said, and from then to now, they have been producing passports. Right now, we can produce your passports in five working days.” Felix said that some weeks they get up to 100 passport applications from New York alone and they are finishing them…; one week, they got 300. He added that as the service has improved, more people are applying and the work is being done.
He added that after that problem was solved, the next step
was decentralisation…”to remove the service out of Georgetown, in keeping with the President’s wish that Government services must be delivered in Capital Towns.
Felix said that this was done in New Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago, and now it has come to Linden.
He posited that government will always ensure that the best comes to Region Ten. The Regional Passport Office is expected to be completed in another four months, according to Felix.
The building will be 2000 square ft.
Regional Chairman, Rennis Morian expressed satisfaction with the initiative. He said, “This is part of Government’s commitment to the people. He said that RDC office will be erected about 500 yards away.
The facility will remove a lot of the hassle suffered by residents. Campaign or not, people need these things…People need a passport office, he added.
APNU Party Chairperson for Region Ten, Sandra Adams commended the Minister for the initiative.
She said that upon acceding to the office of Minister of Citizenship, one of the first things that the Minister would have done was to establish a passport office in Linden.
“From the time he would have taken office he has been pursuing the idea of the decentralisation of necessary facilities and ministry operations in all of the Regions. So the first thing he would have done was to open an office at the NIS building here in Linden.
“And now he is moving it one step further which is to set up a complete office where you can have your new applications done; citizenship applications done, and eventually your birth certificates.”
Adams said that this means that the people of Linden and Region Ten would finally no longer have to travel to Georgetown to access such services. These would be readily available and at less cost as the cost of travel and food would be eliminated, as well as the hassle.
“That would be bringing the good life to the people. Some people might see this as a very small gesture but I see it as a big gesture.
“I most anxiously await it, because when we get on our campaign trail, I can say it was a promise made and a promise delivered.”
Mayor Carwyn Holland said he was very pleased; the project would do so much for the people. “I’m very much thankful on behalf of the people of Linden. I’m very thankful to the Minister.” Holland said that what the Minister is doing is way beyond passports.
Regional Chairman, Rennis Morian said that Linden and Region Ten had waited almost 30 years for such a development. He suggested the establishment of a sub-office in the Berbice River area.
Morian said that the facility would go a long way toward easing the hassle residents endure to obtain their passports and other documents.
A $30.6 million contract has already been awarded to R. Bassoo and Sons for the construction of the facility.
This is part of an ongoing exercise to decentralise immigration services to all Capital Towns across Guyana. Linden’s Passport Office is currently temporarily housed in the NIS building on Republic Avenue.

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