MINISTER of Local Government and Regional Development, Ganga Persuad, and a team from the Ministry, including Permanent Secretary Collin Croal, embarked on a visit to Barima Waini, Region 1, recently. Several meetings were held with the Regional Administration staff and residents to address various concerns, and to check on the progress of government’s projects in the region.
Some of the projects visited were the Kumaka revetment, the market tarmac at Kumaka Front, and the dormitory and nurses hostel at Port Kaituma.
The minister recently commenced meetings with the regional elected officials and the administrative staff of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and has already engaged officers in several Regions, including 6 and 8.
The most recent interaction in Region 1 saw the Minister meeting with the members of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC); the newly elected Vice-Regional Chairman, Osmond Willis; and with residents in the Mabaruma sub district: Kamwatta, Wauna, Hosororo, and Yarakita. On the final day of the three-day visit, he met with Port Kaituma residents and checked on the area’s secondary school and other buildings.
At a session with the Regional Chairman Paul Pierre, and the Regional Executive Officer Nigel Fisher, they focused on the effective management of the regional resources. Minister Persaud pointed out that attention must be paid to the findings of the Auditor General’s Report with regard to the Region. He added that the report has several recurring statements which the Regional Chairman, the REO and other officials must assess, and for which they must derive solutions.
“There are little things that need fixing at some of our health centres, health huts, some of our schools outside of Mabaruma… let us have an active programme,” Minister Persaud urged.
He also informed the RC and the REO about the presentation of the 2012 National Budget which will take place on March 30.
Minister Persaud encouraged the officials to positively market the Region so as to attract investments that would enhance its development.
He noted that too many pieces of equipment are laid up due to poor maintenance, as such, the ministry will be sending a mechanical engineer to the Region to assess all the machinery to ascertain those that are serviceable and those that can be repaired and at what cost. Additionally, drivers and boat captains need to be made more accountable since abuse and destruction of the region’s equipment cannot be allowed, he said.
At a general staff meeting with the regional heads, Minister Persaud commended the staff for contributing to the existing image that is gracing Region 1.
“Public servants play a pivotal role in enhancing efficiency and effectiveness, and the delivery of services to people in their respective geographical areas… for Region 1 we are operating as a regional system that has distinct sub-regional systems, and so sometimes efficiency is really judged based on the output of the central office and not necessarily matched by what takes place at the sub-regional office,” Minister Persaud explained.
In this regard, the PPP/C government is appreciative of the role that each of the staff plays in the implementation of government’s policies that target improvement of residents’ lives. He acknowledged those who work beyond the call of duty just to ensure services are made available to those in need.
“If we want to make sure that we have the best human resource across the 10 regions of Guyana, then each person has to commit him or herself to perform his or her duties to the best of their ability,” he added.
It is hoped that each public servant would recognise that in Region 1 there is not much available in terms of government jobs, but there are people who are waiting in line to have an opportunity to be in regular employment. Minister Persaud emphasised that the public servants must not lose sight of that reality and their job must be treated as a prize won while working conscientiously to ensure their job security by good performance.

With regard to the expectations of public officers, in the presence of officials from the Public Service Commission, Minister Persaud pointed out that irrespective of a public servant’s political inclination or sympathies, once in public employ, they are expected to work to the maximum in implementing the policies of the government of the day.
The Minister indicated that the region’s populace has varying expectations of the RDC, and the only people who can help to satisfy those are public officers; so they were urged to look at themselves and determine if they meet the residents’ expectations.
PS Croal noted that the ministerial visit, which takes on an interactive approach, is an important exercise which allows for direct contact with the individuals who carry out the groundwork, since they too have concerns.

Meanwhile, the RC pointed out that while the Government has an interest in the Region’s development, this does not exclude the participation of programme heads and officers. “The results coming out from Region 1 ultimately depend on you as public servants; how you operate and what you have achieved at your level would reflect on the regional office,” Pierre noted.
The Regional Officers were encouraged to be aware of projects being implemented in Region 1, including the Hinterland Electrification Programme, the One Laptop Per Family programme, oil exploration and manganese mining.
The visiting team was joined by a representative from the Public Service Commission, Vidya Looknauth, who explained that the Commission also carries out outreaches to interact with public servants so as to make them aware of the Commission’s activities, workers’ rights, practices that should be adhered to in the work place, and addressing concerns.
She noted that the Commission is a constitutional body that is appointed by the president, and is responsible for appointments, transfers, promotions, disciplining of public servants, termination of service and retirement benefits.

Community meetings
At the community meetings, the ministerial team interacted with villagers to find out about progress in their villages and their concerns.
In Yarakita, a request was made for furniture for the village’s nursery and primary schools, which are housed in the same building, and the Regional Administration committed to assisting in this regard.
Kamwatta residents requested a radio which the Regional Education Department will also provide. Additionally, concerns were raised about the village’s drainage and irrigation workers not being paid, and the team promised to forward the concern to the Ministry of Agriculture which has responsibility for D &I.
Residents also asked for the community’s school to be extended to accommodate a computer laboratory and a library; this request, they were told, will be forwarded to the Ministry of Education and the Region 1 Administration.
With regard to electricity, some villages have already received solar panels and will be moving to install these under the second phase of the Hinterland Electrification Programme.
Wauna residents voiced the need for their school to be renovated and the village’s road repaired, and these, they were told, will be addressed upon release of the region’s budget.