Amanza Walton Desir

Biography

Amanza Walton-Desir is a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. She is the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)+ Alliance for Change (AFC) Opposition Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs whilst also overseeing the Maritime and Aviation Affairs portfolios. She is an elected Member of the Central Executive Committee of the People’s National Congress Reform, the largest Party in the Coalition.

Amanza Owana Rukia Walton was born into a working-class family at Number 50 Village (Leeds) Corentyne, Berbice, Guyana. Her mother Joy Walton was a schoolteacher and her father Ovid Walton a military officer. When Amanza was 10. Her family moved to Linden, the birthplace of her father, where she attended the Mackenzie High School from 1991 to 1995, and thereafter the President’s College from 1995 to 1997.
Amanza’s parents instilled in her and her eight (8) siblings the value of hard work and excellence. These values continue to guide her approach to any task, espousing her personal mantra “whatever is worth doing is worth doing well”. This attitude has informed her approach to her academics and her career.

Amanza is an Attorney-at-law and was admitted to the legal profession in 2003. Her areas of focus include international maritime law, aviation law and management, legislative drafting and public policy and administration. She has spent her entire career in the government service. Her last posting before being sworn in a Member of Parliament, was as General Counsel of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, a position she held for seven years.

Among her battery of qualifications, Amanza holds a Masters in Law (Distinction), International Maritime Law, from the International Maritime Law Institute, Malta; a Postgraduate Certificate in Legislative Drafting from the University of Guyana; Post Graduate – Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School, Trinidad and Tobago; a Bachelors of Law Degree from the University of Guyana as well as a Certification in Civil Aviation Management from the Singapore Aviation Academy. Her LL.M Dissertation titled “Offshore Drilling and Guyana: An Analysis of the Legal Framework for the Protection of the Marine Environment” won the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary General’s Prize for Best Dissertation, IMLI, 2009. She is also a court certified mediator.
Amanza believes that irrespective of ethnicity, class, creed, political affiliation or gender, every Guyanese is entitled to a good life for themselves and their generations to come. She holds firmly the view, that for Guyana to realize its potential, it is imperative that Government must be held accountable, be participatory with a view to building consensus, be transparent, effective and efficient, follow the rule of law and be equitable and inclusive.
As a racially and ethnically diverse nation, unity and social cohesion are indispensable prerequisites to building a truly prosperous nation. Article 13 of the Constitution promises that the principal objective of the political system of the State is to establish an inclusionary democracy.
Since her swearing in as a Member of Parliament, Amanza continues to dedicate herself and her energy to helping Guyana realize this promise of an inclusionary democracy, where every Guyanese can live, work, grow and thrive in a safe and healthy environment.

Get in Touch