GOVERNMENT has blocked an Opposition attempt to have the report on the Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service of Guyana sent to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee

by voting against the Opposition-sponsored motion.

Though the APNU+AFC Members of Parliament have embraced the concept of debating the contents and recommendations of the report, in accordance with the motion — the Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service of Guyana -– they maintained that there was no need to send the document to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee for further scrutiny and consultation.

A Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service was, in August 2015, appointed by President David Granger to “examine, advise, and report on the salaries, conditions of service, training, and other matters pertaining to the improvement of the efficiencies of the performance of the public service and the well-being of the public servants in the public service.”

In May 2016, nearly one year after its constitution, the Commission, chaired by Professor Harold Lutchman, presented copies of the report to President Granger, Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo; and the Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr. Barton Scotland.

Addressing the National Assembly during a late-night debate on the motion on Monday, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, within whose purview responsibility for the public service sector falls, said the nation owes a debt of gratitude to the Commissioners – Professor Harold Lutchman (Chairman), Sandra Jones and Samuel Goolsarran – for the exceptional work done in compiling the very complex and detailed report.

“The recommendation of my colleagues on the other side — that this matter goes to a special select committee — cannot stand, because the work has already been done. The work in the communities has been done; all of the consultations have been done,” the State Minister told the House in marking his objection.

He recalled that when the APNU+AFC Administration assumed office, the country’s public service was in an unacceptable state.

“The APNU+AFC Coalition Government, upon assuming office in May 2015, inherited a public service that was ill-equipped to perform their functions in transitioning Guyana into a modern state,” he said, while explaining that there were arbitrary increases of wages without adhering to the collective bargaining agreement and respect for the union.

Additionally, he said, there was a large number of contract employees, and little provision was made for those who had been employed under the old system to acquire promotion.
Now equipped with detailed information on the needs of the public service, Government will be taking the necessary steps to implement a number of the recommendations: such as the establishment of planning departments in government ministries, the introduction of a public service code of conduct, and the establishment of a committee of permanent secretaries.

A Public Service Appellate Tribunal would be appointed in 2017, Minister Harmon further announced.

Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence, was also of the opinion that Professor Lutchman, who was among those observing the sitting on Monday, ought with his team to be applauded for compiling such a comprehensive report on Guyana’s Public Service.

“The Ministry of Public Service now has in its possession an excellent working document that will provide guidelines and enable the minister to craft strategic plans and programmes for several years, as the APNU+AFC Government seeks to initiate changes that will significantly impact on the quality of the service that the Public Service Ministry offers,” Minister Lawrence told the House.

But the mover of the motion, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Chief Whip Gail Teixeira, with support from her colleagues, argued that the report should have been sent to the Parliamentary Select Committee.

Teixeira told the National Assembly that the report, which has some 89 recommendations, raises some serious concerns. She argued that not only did the report need to be sent to a Parliamentary Special Select Committee, but that there was need for national consultation.

The PPP Chief Whip was particularly concerned about the recommendation which states that contract workers should be “absorbed into the pensionable Public Service establishment, provided that they are suitably qualified to fill established positions.”

The commissioners, in making the recommendation, had pointed out that the contract workers, the majority of whom occupy very senior positions, “were not recruited through the established processes and procedures of the Public Service Commission.”

However, the PPP front bencher said this recommendation has not found favour with the younger generation.

“Young people today do not see themselves staying in one place for 35 years to get a pension. That’s just not what the modern world is!” she lamented. “Sir, we also have young people who have been in the public service who are educated, have their degrees and masters, who have been told that they now have to apply to go on the pensionable establishment — pensionable non-contractual arrangement — and that they will start all over again… (They) would therefore not be able to access some of the benefits,” a disappointed Teixeira said.

She maintained that there was need for the report to be sent to the Special Select Committee for further scrutiny. Her colleague, back bencher Ganga Persaud, said there is no doubt that the report compiled by the commissioners is comprehensive, but “it is not a perfect document,” and as such should be sent to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee.

He, too, underscored the need for consultation, contending that the majority of the 187 interviews done did not include active members of the public service sector.

Despite pleas by the Opposition, the Government voted against the motion minutes past midnight, and as such the motion was not carried.