GUYANA’S public service is the engine of the executive that will ensure the delivery of services to the nation’s people and, by extension, guarantee them a good life.“It is my view that the public service is the engine of the executive, it is essential to have an efficient public service if we are to have services such as education, housing, law and order

infrastructure, roads to drive on. I don’t believe that these can be possible without an efficient public service. It is essential also to create the environment in which our citizens can enjoy what I call a good life,” charged the new Head of State, David Granger.
He met with heads of the public service and budget agencies at the newly renamed Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal, yesterday, to detail his expectations of a reformed public service.
“The public servants must live by different rules, the politicians are the representatives who will go to Parliament and speak in the interest of their constituency, but the public servants must not try to be politicians, they must give those politicians their best advice without fear or favour,” the Head of State said.
PROFESSIONALISM
According to him, professionalism, to be bolstered by a new Public Service Staff College, will have to be the order of the day.
“Everyone entering the Guyana public service must do a course at the Public Service Staff College, so they learn to read and spell properly and to count,” he said.
Granger added, “I do not care about who you voted for last Monday, what I care about is that when the political ministers enter the ministries…the public servants they find there will forget who they voted for and work with devotion and dedication to ensure that the ministry succeeds.”
The Head of State explained that the vision for the public service is: one that responds to the needs of the Guyanese people in a manner that advances the development of all Guyanese, not only on the Coast; one that is resourceful enough to take advantage of the ability of individual regions to make inroads into improved and efficient management; one that is reliable; and one that is able to capitalise on the digital advances being made by tapping into Information Communication and Technology (ICT) mechanisms.
On these bases, he called on members of the public service to be “prepared” to work with his Administration for its success, as well as the success of the Guyanese people, by being ready to “implement” the decisions of the executive, irrespective of whether or not the decision contradicts their “advice” on matters.
MERIT-BASED
The Head of State also touted the principle of merit-based advancement, making clear that the public service is no place for “ignoramuses,” rather it is one for intelligent and professional Guyanese who can envision their efforts in a particular area of public service as a profitable career path. “Career officials will not be selected on the basis of non-merit principles,” Granger stressed.
Corruption and bribery, he added, have no place in the public service; instead the public service must be characterised by persons of integrity, impartiality and intelligence.
“People guilty of corruption will not have a place in the public service….in the months to come, when we have a reformed public service, people will regard the public servant as un-bribable,” Granger said.
Any other method of operation, the Head of State said, only serves to turn the system “upside down” and result in diminished public service.
“It doesn’t serve the purpose of good administration for a politician to be elected, selected or appointed as a Permanent Secretary, and his or her subordinates know more about how the ministry is run than he or she,” he said, adding that “administrative neutrality” acknowledges some form of bias, but demands professionalism.
ASSURANCE
In return, the Head of State assured of a move to increase wages to a “living wage” and the return of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
He said, “We have accepted, as a matter of principle, to respect the Collective Bargaining Agreements we have with the State or Government on one hand, and the representatives of the public servants on the other hand… I am not interested in working with a disgruntled public service… we have to solve that problem in a consensual manner.”
Granger assured too that contract workers will not be “thrown out the window,” rather the conditions of their engagement will be reviewed.
“Put Guyana first,” the Head of State concluded. Also at the forum were Minister of State Joseph Harmon, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and other Government officials.

By Vanessa Narine