THE Regional Administration of Region Five Mahaica/Berbice) recently staged a one-day
training forum for pharmacists and pharmacy assistants, store keepers and store attendants and overseers and assistant overseers within the region on systems of procurement and regulation of stores.
The venue was the Boardroom of the Regional Democratic Council at Fort Wellington, West
Coast Berbice.
The main objective of the program was to equip these officials with the knowledge to
discharge their responsibilities within the procurement and storekeeping departments within the Regional Administration with greater efficiency, professionalism and accountability.
The resource persons were Regional Executive Officer, Ovid Morrison; Deputy Regional
Executive Officer, Govind Singh and Field Auditor of the region, Ms. Colette Stuart. Over
three dozen Staffers participated in the workshop. The main focus was on the Stores
Regulations which were made under the Financial Administration and Audit Act ( Laws of
Guyana Cap 73:01) in June 1993.
During the programme Regional Executive Officer Morrison told the Officers that the
administration was expected to be unflinching in its insistence to adherence to standard
operating procedures which have been designed to ensure efficient management of the
procurement system and management of stores.
He said that the objective of the training was to ensure that all were on the same page with
respect to the expectations of efficiency and accountability demanded by the public they serve.
He told the participants to always observe the two critical tenets of professionalism and
accountability for the management of the resources and services made available by Central
Government for delivery to the residents of Region Five.
The Region Five training programme followed on the heels of a two-day workshop by the Ministry of Communities in January last, which targeted Regional Executive Officers (REOs), Deputy Regional Executive Officers (DREOs) and Regional Engineers from across the 10 regions.
Run off in January last under the theme, “Action roundtable for regional development:
Results-based management, procurement and project management,” it addressed the system of procurement and the importance of developing quality controls that can tangibly measure and serve as performance indicators for their projects.
Participants at the Region Five workshop felt that at the end they had learned much about approved procurement systems and stores regulations and would as a result be able to discharge their duties with greater confidence and greater degrees of professionalism.