REGIONAL Executive Officers (REOs) last weekend expressed concern about the treatment meted out to them during their submissions at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly.

They claimed that they were “being vilified and unfairly treated for matters out of their control.”

This came to the fore during a recent two-day retreat organised by the Ministry of Communities for REOs from the 10 administrative regions, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal.

Hosted under the theme, “Catalysing Regional Development through Transformational Leadership,” the retreat afforded REOs the opportunity to address some of the challenges they face in actualising the regional development agenda set out by the President David Granger administration.

According to a release from the Ministry of Communities, during the discussions, a call was made for technical staff of the regions, particularly at the middle-management level, to similarly be subject to scrutiny from the PAC.
According to the REOs, the PAC ought to be involved in guiding and advising regional executive officers as opposed to bombarding, ridiculing and ultimately reducing the morale of REOs in a manner reflective of a political agenda.

According to the ministry, Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan, during his remarks at the event, maintained government’s commitment to decentralisation and the effective devolution of governmental authority through decentralisation of power to the people. Minister Bulkan reminded that the decentralisation agenda is in keeping with the governance framework identified by Guyana’s constitution.

During the retreat, REOs benefited from presentations on transformational leadership by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communities, Emil McGarrell.There was also a question-and-answer session with Education Minister Nicolette Henry, on the state of public education in the regions, which included the maintenance of schools and school playgrounds.There was also a question-and-answer session with Permanent Secretary of the Natural Resources Ministry Joslyn McKenzie on mining operations in the regions and the role of the regional administrations.

Minister Bulkan further reminded them of the need for consideration of renaming the development regions. He viewed this as being linked to regional identity, which could be further solidified by the use of regional flags.

Other initiatives, such as the Regional Agriculture and Commercial Exhibition (RACE) as well as the National Day of Villages and National Tree Day were among some of the other activities addressed.

During the event, REOs expressed concern about critical staff vacancies in their regions, which they lamented delays in filling by the Public Service Commission.
The regional accounting officers further called for a standardised system which allows for more collaboration and communication between and among the regional accounting unit, sub-treasury and state auditors.

The REOs expressed the need for government agencies and officers located in Georgetown to be mindful of the difference in operations between the coast and the hinterland, particularly as it relates to the cost of living and transportation.