…as gov’t seeks to optimize skills, performance

By Zena Henry
Considerations are said to be on the way for a major shakeup of public servants holding the post of Permanent Secretaries to government ministries.

The Guyana Chronicle was reliably informed that discussions are on the way to shift around the PS’s in a bid to optimise their skills and performance. “Nothing has been done yet, but I can say that it is under consideration,” a government official noted. The official said that in some instances the consideration for rearranging was not directly linked to the PS’s performance, but rather a need to utilise them in areas better suited to their skills.

It was explained that outside of this, PS’s are public servants and there is nothing to say that they must remain at a designated ministry. “Sometimes people get comfortable,” the source said, noting however that, “their strengths could be better utilised somewhere else.”
Since the ascension of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition to government, they have had their share of run-ins with Permanent Secretaries, many of those leftover from the last People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration. In 2015, Attorney General (AG) Basil Williams had cause to send his Permanent Secretary, Indira Ananjit on a 52-day administrative leave to facilitate an audit into millions of dollars’ worth in missing law books and computer parts. The AG said the PS had purchased the books which went missing.

Another incident saw the PS at the Ministry of the Presidency, Omar Shariff being sent on leave last June by Minister of State Joseph Harmon, after he was arrested by ranks of Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) in connection with large sums of cash which were found in his personal bank accounts. While the PS claimed it was his personal earnings, investigators are still probing the source of the money.

More recently, a Commission of Inquiry into the procurement of medical drugs recommended that Health Ministry PS Trevor Thomas be fired after it was found out that he had lied to the commission. They said he gave “inconsistent” and “deceptive” evidence. It was found that staffers of the Materials Management Unit were conspiring with bidders to help them win drug contracts by making them more competitive than others.

In other cases some PS’s have been replaced. Health Permanent Secretary, Leslie Cadogan was fired in 2015 amidst allegations of gross negligence and misconduct in the performance of his duties. PPP Member of Parliament, Nigel Dharamlall was booted from the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affair and Colin Croal was also fired as the PS to the then Local Government Ministry. A Permanent Secretary is equivalent to that of the Chief Executive Officer of a company. It is the most senior civil office in the ministry and is charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis.

Back in June last year President David Granger and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, had convened a meeting with the permanent secretaries of the various ministries with a view to ensuring that their work is in line with the policies of the Government. At the meeting the President said that the position of permanent secretary is the pinnacle of the professional career of a public servant and, as such, his Government will ensure that the conditions under which they function are as close as possible to ideal and that there is a high level of satisfaction and commitment among them. He explained that like law and medicine, public service is a profession that requires a high level of competency and professionalism.

“Ministers may change, but permanent secretaries are meant to be permanent… to run a ministry continuously for a long period of time, every day and whoever the minister is, the Permanent Secretary must be able to discharge his/her function in an efficient manner but they cannot do that unless they are educated,” President Granger had said.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Minister Harmon, who emphasised that permanent secretaries have a critical role to play in the functioning of the ministries. He informed the permanent secretaries that the President will soon introduce a draft strategic plan for the various ministries, which outlines a broad framework within which each ministry will function and what they should focus on. This draft plan also highlights the Government’s green agenda. Minister Harmon said that, “the first and foremost responsibility of every Government ministry is to push that green agenda.”