| By Sase Singh INTRODUCTIONMany incoming governments have undertaken ambitious programmes to remake the way their country is managed.One New Zealand government made a campaign promise to reduce their government spending by 1.3 percent of GDP while simultaneously improving the quality of service offered to the public and they did. Malaysia said they were going to reduce crime by 30 percent in three years and they did. Morocco said they would increase industrial output by 46 percent within five years and they did.The key common thread was how these progressive governments project-managed their first 100 days in office. In that time period, their road maps were laid out,Wholesale Jerseys Online, their best teams were assembled and their top political executives did everything possible to break down barriers that could have destabilized success.Did the same happen in Guyana after the May 2015 elections?FRESH THINKINGAfter the Ramotar government lost the elections, most of the people were prepared to throw their backs into the national project which entailed molding the nation into an environment that supports “the good life”. But that could only have happened with a heavy dose of fresh thinking.Unfortunately as we approach the 50th anniversary celebration, the empirical evidence clearly establishes that we are having anything but fresh thinking in Guyana. At the operational level, we find little evidence that much has changed from the PPP mode, save and except for a wonderful clean-up campaign.Cabinet still grants no-objection on all major procurement, and sole sourcing still continues without just cause, just like it happened under the PPP, in spite of serious objection from the current government Ministers when they were on the opposition benches.As a financial analyst, and with the kind of information at my disposal, I cannot buy the line that the Treasury was empty in May 2015; it was not. Where is all this cash today? Why are we struggling as a nation to use what we have to lift all the boats across the land? Why are only the boats that belong to the new cabal in town, lifting these days? How significantly different is that from how the Ramotar administration functioned in the days of poor governance?It comes down to the lack of one simple process – a plan that is well monitored for deliverables and evaluated for impact. What we are witnessing today is a reactive government that is increasingly self-centered rather than a proactive one. We will never achieve the “good life” if this modus operandi continues. There is good news; it is not too late to fix this.One example – Guyana has established a whole new Ministry dedicated to citizenry, but yet the ordinary citizens have to waste countless hours standing in line (rain or shine),NFL Jerseys China, waiting for their documents. This is an unacceptable level of performance,Cheap Jeseys NFL, especially after the Coalition promised in its 100 Days Plan that it would establish “passport and birth certificate and licencing offices in Berbice, Essequibo and Linden” within that time period. Not done! Fix it! Just do it!IMPROVING THE LIVES OF OUR CITIZENSGuyana is missing a tremendous opportunity to improve the quality of life for its citizens by failing to capitalize on the benefits of having all of these natural resources. And do not dare give me the excuse that the world economic conditions are not favourable to support such a transformation.How is it possible for other countries with less natural resources to buck the global trend? It takes an attitude at the highest levels, which demands the conversion of disadvantages into workable advantages.Mediocrity is too common place in the new Government. The blame for this entire mess can be nailed down to the people chosen to manage the engine room of this ship, and I am not referring to the Captains in the Cabinet. I am referring to the technicians in the engine room.As Ramon Gaskin reminded us, some of the cadre of people we have on the Boards of Directors and as Head of Agencies are “cardboards” rather than real boards, and he is absolutely correct. Many of the people we have on the Boards in the new government never ran a cake shop much less a real agency.This is where the great let down is occurring and deeply hurting the Granger administration. In many cases we have chosen clerical minds and academics to run a government and the Cabinet can press full throttle as much as they want, if the engine of government continues to malfunction, this ship is not going reach its destination in a hurry.Sector after sector, we are failing on the critical expectation of bringing in the money, advancing the required economic transformation, expanding the wealth capacity of the nation and creating the new jobs for the people.THESE ARE NEW TIMESThe Granger administration was voted in to break away from the business-as-usual mode as practiced under the Ramotar administration, but its philosophy of incrementalism is not working. What is needed is that push for big reforms beyond the norm, to leave a legacy replete with acts of successful human advancement.Firstly,Wholesale Jerseys, are we training our people in the right skills? This country needs engineers, educationists, scientists and entrepreneurs desperately, but collectively these pools of talent are the minority on the UG campus. Not much has changed on this front in the last 11 months.Secondly,Stitched NFL Jerseys, we accused the PPP government of spending more than $700 million annually on international travels and guess what? The 2016 Coalition budget has allocated more than $700 million for international travels. Nothing has changed on this front.In the new world, senior government officials are using technology such as video conferencing so that they can spend more time doing real work, and less time gallivanting all over the globe wasting taxpayers’ dollars. It is called working smarter. This nation is on a developmental pause because Ministers have to travel. But there are very limited returns from these international travels, since life is not getting easier for the people they are supposed to serve.One would have thought that after almost a year in office, we would have conducted the essential reforms, commenced the construction of the new operating environment and re-engineered the mode of how the government serves the people, especially the business community.One would have thought we would have already established a Procurement Commission, a refocused GO-Invest, the Public Service Staff College, all focused on driving the new operational paradigm, where the focus is on income; not expenditure.CONCLUSIONMay 2015 was a watershed in Guyana’s history,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, because it was supposed to represent a second chance at building national unity and institutionalizing social cohesion. So far, not so good!We have to find answers to our strategic issues or else we will continue to slip further and further behind to the back of the class. Under President Hoyte, Guyana was able to accomplish more with 11 Ministries than is being accomplished today with 18 Ministries. How many Ministers do we have today? I do not know because I have lost count after the number 26. |
