Months after being accused of xenophobia for warning about the risks of unregulated migration, former A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament and current Forward Guyana Movement leader Amanza Walton-Desir has accused the government of acting “only after crisis hits.”
In a sharply worded social media post titled “Reactive Leadership, Predictable Failure — PPP Acts Only After Crisis Hits,” Walton-Desir reminded the nation that she had repeatedly cautioned the government about the dangers of unchecked migration from Venezuela. Her comments followed Monday’s tragic explosion at the ExxonMobil Gas Station in Georgetown, allegedly caused by a Venezuelan national, Daniel Alexander Ramirez Peodomo, which left six-year-old Soraya Bourn and several others injured.
At a police press conference on Tuesday, Minister of Home Affairs Oneidge Walrond announced that the government is moving to implement an Electronic Identification (E-ID) system for migrants. Under the new framework, foreign nationals will be given a set period to comply with registration requirements, after which those who fail to do so will face sanctions, including deportation.
The announcement marked a notable reversal for Walrond, who just months earlier had dismissed Walton-Desir’s parliamentary warnings as “xenophobic” and baseless.
“Now, in the wake of a tragic bombing allegedly carried out by a Venezuelan national, Minister Walrond herself has announced that all foreigners must register or face deportation — a reactive move that echoes exactly what Walton-Desir had been urging months ago,” Walton-Desir wrote on her page.
She continued: “This sudden policy shift underscores what Guyanese have seen time and again — a government that waits for disaster before acting. Instead of proactive governance, we are witnessing reactionary leadership that endangers national security and public safety. The warnings were there. The evidence was clear. The PPP simply did not listen.”
A Warning Ignored
In January 2024, Walton-Desir, then serving as APNU’s Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs, publicly criticised the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration for its handling of Venezuelan migration. She said the government had failed to craft a coherent migration strategy or provide an accurate estimate of the number of Venezuelan migrants in the country — calling that failure “clear evidence” that authorities had “lost control of the situation.”
“We are not anti-Venezuelan or any other migrant… We are pro-law and order,” she stated at the time. “No migrant, who comes here in keeping with our laws and whilst here, continues to abide by the laws of Guyana, will have anything to fear.”
During the January 2025 National Budget Debate, she again pressed the government to establish a mandatory migrant registration system to track entries and ensure lawful residence. She argued that migrant status should remain temporary and tightly regulated, insisting,
“Our first duty is the people of Guyana, and we must be unapologetic in the prosecution of that duty.”
Her remarks were met with strong rebuttals from then-Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond, who dismissed them as “xenophobic.”
“The PPP Simply Did Not Listen”
Following this week’s bombing, Walton-Desir said the government’s new stance on registration validates the concerns she raised nearly a year ago.
As fate would have it, the very minister who accused Walton-Desir of xenophobia is now admitting the need for managing the migrant situation
Walton-Desir tied the tragedy directly to what she called the administration’s failure to anticipate and manage risks associated with mass migration.
“Now, in the wake of a tragic bombing allegedly carried out by a Venezuelan national,” she said “Minister Walrond herself has announced that all foreigners must register or face deportation—a reactive move that echoes exactly what Walton-Desir had been urging months ago.”
Concluding her statement, Walton-Desir remarked poignantly, “The warnings were there. The evidence was clear. The PPP simply did not listen.”
