‘Conditions now less oppressive for Guyanese fisherfolk’ – Pres. Ali

President Dr. Irfaan Ali believes that Guyanese fisherfolk are facing less oppressive conditions now, amid new revelations that Surinamese fishing licences were indeed promised to Guyana.

The Head of State, while engaging reporters at the sidelines of an event on Tuesday, said that the Guyana Government continues to lobby its Surinamese counterpart for the promised fishing licences.

Though these licences were promised since January 2021, they have not yet been issued. And Guyanese fisherfolk continue to complain about the challenges faced while plying their trade in the Corentyne River which separates Guyana and Suriname.

With continued lobbying from the local authorities, however, President Ali believes that the situation is improving.

“I am of the view that the conditions are less oppressive than five weeks ago to our Guyanese fisherfolk,” he said.

His statements come just days after the Surinamese Parliament heard that the Dutch-speaking country’s Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Prahlad Sewdien did indeed commit to granting fishing licences to Guyanese fishermen, based on an email correspondence between him and Mustapha.

That correspondence, seen by the News Room, stated that the Surinamese government will issue fishing licences to Guyana from January 2021.

Sewdien even proposed that a government-owned company be appointed to act as the business partner for Guyanese fishermen and to facilitate the signing of a “vesselbasing” agreement to simplify the process.

Asked for an update on the issuance of those licences, President Ali said that Guyana’s lobbying efforts were continuing.

“We’ve placed our concerns at the table, there are a lot of discussions going on around our concerns.

“There is some amount of progress that has been made but we will continue to champion the cause of the fisherfolk,” President Ali said.