Taking Government To The People

PRESIDENT, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has recently concluded a two-day outreach programme in Region Six and from all indications it was a highly productive engagement with residents of what is known as the ‘Ancient County.’

It was a case of taking government to the people, something which has now become the hallmark of the PPP/C administration. This is yet another manifestation of grounding with the masses in keeping with the people-oriented approach of development embraced by the PPP/C administration.

People are not only the beneficiaries of development but the reason for all development and whenever there are obstacles in the way of such development, they have to be removed with dispatch.

It is exactly this thinking that is at the root of the several interventions made by President Ali and his team of officials to the several regions of Guyana. In the case of Region Six, the team was able to resolve hundreds of issues and engage over 2,000 persons during the two-day visit.

Over 16 ministries and agencies were represented at the engagements which saw, in several instances, on-the-spot solutions to a number of festering issues.

But for many, it was not only an opportunity to engage the President in dealing with issues of concern, but also the joy of meeting and interfacing with the President at a personal level. Hundreds, if not thousands of individuals who had the opportunity of meeting with the President left fulfilled and were touched by his simplicity and down-to-earth manner in which he related to them and their issues.

Delivering services to the people, it must be said, is not doing them a favour. It is an entitlement and it simply cannot be business as usual when unnecessary bottlenecks are placed in the way of service delivery, especially by bureaucrats who are paid to ensure the delivery of such services.

It is a fact that many issues could have been resolved at the agency level but because of undue bureaucracy, such problems remain unresolved for an inordinate length of time, resulting in much frustration, inconvenience and, in some cases, distress by those affected.

The joy in the faces of those whose problems were resolved by the on-the-spot interventions of the President are all too familiar and the President must be commended for the proactive measures he is taking in addressing the concerns of the Guyanese people.

As pointed out by President Ali, governance is serious business. “We believe strongly in serving the people. We are not a government that is distant from the people or a government that operates in a vacuum or in a locked compartment. That is not how we operate. We operate with you, taking your concerns and realities into consideration,” the President emphasised.

This is not just talk. Indeed, since assuming office President Ali and his team of government officials have been working in every community. This initiative, according to the President, will be replicated in all the regions of Guyana.

The visit to Region Six comes on the heels of the passage in the National Assembly of one of the biggest budgets in the country’s history. But, as pointed out by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, preparation and passage of the budget is one thing, but implementation of the budget is what really matters. As such, there can be no room for complacency or inertia.

President Ali has been leading by example in this regard and it is imperative that all those who are in positions of responsibility rise to the challenges of national development. This requires a high level of commitment and discipline which the President has been demonstrating throughout his interactions with the Guyanese people.

This was summed up quite well by one resident when he said, “I feel happy to know we have a President not on promise; he is on time and he speaks his words and it come to pass. I believe that’s what the people need, a man with a vision. One who speaks words and it come to pass.”

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