– Prudent adjustments for better delivery of services

THE announcement by President David Granger yesterday, confirming the changes in Cabinet portfolios for three ministers as first reported by this publication, may have taken many by surprise. This was perhaps given that His Excellency gave no indication that it was forthcoming and in September last year had indicated that he was not anticipating any Cabinet adjustments. It ought not to have been however. The confirmation came against the background of similar Cabinet adjustments made at the start of 2016.

Further, speaking yesterday, His Excellency articulated that it is a ‘normal activity’ of his as Head of Government, “to continuously assess the ability of Cabinet to fulfil its functions.” While when he spoke a few months ago President Granger may not have envisioned the need for adjustments, it must be his prerogative as Head of State to review the various sectors, particularly expansive sectors such as Public Health and Social Protection and make a determination as to whether changes may be required to improve and optimise service delivery to the people of Guyana.

What this also assures the public of is a responsive government which is not inflexible to the needs (and views) of the people and which listens. This particular advancement under the Coalition Government may yet take some time for the citizenry to get used to, as for many years they were presided over by a government which appeared intransigent, unresponsive and unsympathetic.

“During 2016 there were some criticisms and I felt the criticisms were detracting from the performance of the Cabinet as a whole and as a result I thought it prudent and timely to make the changes at the beginning of 2017,” President Granger noted in his television presentation yesterday, stopping short of explaining, that making the announcement at the start of the year also allows the newly appointed ministers to have a full budgetary cycle to work with rather than a partial arrangement.

STEADY AND JUDICIOUS LEADERSHIP
This is indicative of a steady and judicious hand and head leading Cabinet and the nation as a whole. President Granger has demonstrated a penchant for prudent and thoughtful decision-making. Even in the face of public uproar and criticism of the government and of himself, he has not fallen prey to knee-jerkism and has eschewed volatile and impetuous responses and decisions made to placate public anxieties rather than advance the national cause.

NEW POLITICAL CULTURE
This illustrates a new political culture, a refreshing trait of executive political leadership. Considered and considerate decision-making is the new standard in executive national leadership and it is steadily being cemented as the abiding hallmark of the Granger presidency.

VICTORY FOR WOMEN
What has not yet come into focus, however, is that two women have been further elevated within Cabinet and Guyana. Minister Lawrence takes over an even larger sector of Public Health than Social Protection which she has managed since May 2015. Minister Amna Ally replaces Minister Lawrence at Social Protection.

The unintended and perhaps unwitting benefit of these ‘shifts’ are major gains for the women of Guyana. These two senior women ministers along with their colleague senior minister Cathy Hughes who heads the Public Telecommunications Ministry together will manage $40.4BILLION of Guyana’s $250B 2017 budget. That represents just under 1/5 of the total national budget allocation.

Add to this the housing portfolio which is led by Minister Valerie Patterson and the responsibilities of ministers Dr. Karen Cummings, Nicolette Henry, Valerie Garrido-Lowe, Simona Broomes, Annette Ferguson and Dawn Hastings-Williams, all women ministers managing about 40% of the national budget. This is unprecedented in Guyana’s political history and represents a red letter day and a victory for women in Guyana.

NEUTRAL FACE FOR SOCIAL COHESION
To her credit, Minister Amna Ally was relentless and typically effervescent and pro-active in executing the Social Cohesion mandate. However, there is the view that this role might, at least in the initial stages, best be served by someone who is not from either of the two major ethnic groups which have traditionally been most combative in the political sphere. In this regard a more neutral face, an Amerindian face, a face from among our original and first peoples is likely to be an advantage.

President Granger addressed this issue from a slightly different angle when he noted that Dr. George Norton may assume this portfolio with an inherent advantage.
“Dr. Norton first joined our partnership as the leader of the Guyanese Organisation of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP) and he has deep knowledge of the hinterland. When we look at Social Cohesion we’re not just speaking of Africans and Indians, we’re not just speaking of the ethnic problem or the religious problem, we also have to look at the spatial dimension and I felt that he had an advantage in his knowledge of the hinterland because our administration has always spoken about closing the gap between coastland and hinterland and I believe he is ideally suited to that.”

NON-MEDICAL PUBLIC HEALTH LEADER
In speaking to the issue of the advantage of having a non-medical professional and a strong administrator leading the delivery of health care, President Granger summed up that many of the challenges facing the sector were not technical medical issues, but rather managerial matters which needed strengthening.

Unconventional and controversial though Minister Lawrence may be from time to time, a weak manager she certainly is not. Her hands-on approach, attention to detail, robust and thorough coordination and a strong emphasis on listening and being responsive to people will be assets the Ministry of Public Health will benefit from straight away. All in all, though His Excellency may wish to determine whether he will pursue Cabinet changes, adjustments or shifts at the start of each new year, it is certainly an option which he will reserve and one which can be utilised if necessary to improve the delivery of public services and advance the drive towards the good life for all Guyanese.