Dear Editor,
In a stunning denial, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Gail Teixeira disaffirmed statements made by Foreign Secretary attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Robert Persaud, that the diaspora engagement strategy documents developed by the International Organization for Migration were at the Cabinet for approval.
The denial by Gail Teixeira came during the visit of a high-level delegation, including Prime Minister Mark Phillips, to South Florida, last week.
The diaspora has been seeking a copy of the documents for more than one year.
The diaspora community worldwide is alarmed by the disingenuous statements coming out of the Diaspora Unit by both Rosalina Rasul and Robert Persaud.
This new revelation comes in the wake of the loss of more than 7,700 records containing personal and confidential information on members of the diaspora collected by the Ministry during a survey.
It is alarming that the Diaspora Unit is planning another exercise-skills-mapping to gather personal data from the diaspora before accounting for the significant loss of other data.
Earlier in August, two letters were dispatched to President Ali outlining the irregularities and deficiencies in the Ministry relating to diaspora affairs.
Consequently, the Office of President Ali had instructed the Foreign Secretary to respond to Dr. Forde, who sent letters to President Ali in August reporting the severe loss of data.
Recently. Forde also dispatched a letter (attached) to Prime Minister Mark Phillips, whom he met in South Florida to ascertain the whereabouts of the mysterious Diaspora Engagement Strategy document.
Trust and confidence in the operations in the diaspora unit continue to wane in the diaspora community due to the lack of effective leadership and concerns about the credibility of information emanating from its leadership.
Sincerely,
Wayne Forde, M.P.P, D.B.A
