A PROPERLY managed public service sector with well-trained employees will not only improve the delivery of goods and services, but it is critical to the rapid growth of Guyana’s economy.
This was the message Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, delivered at the opening of the Public Service Ministry’s two-day Annual Personnel Practitioners Workshop.
Last held in 2016, the workshop is being held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara under the theme, “Strengthening the Public Service through Human Resources Management.”
It aims to equip personnel practitioners with the tools needed to effectively and efficiently carry out their roles in the various public service offices.
During his feature address, PM Phillips reiterated the need for those attending the workshop to leave understanding the importance of their job.
He noted that if the public service is not properly managed, or is well-trained, it affects the delivery of goods and services to members of the public.
The Prime Minister further expressed the need for a public service that can manage the rapid growth of Guyana’s economy; “not manage in the sense of banking and just spending, but ensuring that the goods and services demanded by the Guyanese population is delivered in an effective and efficient manner.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Public Service, Savitri Sonia Parag, remarked that sessions such as this one are needed for those who turn the wheels of government.
She said it enables them to speak about what they know, gain exposure on what they do not know, and learn as they progress so that they can be better able to function in their respective jobs, as well as give the service that is expected of them.
“It is your job to hold. You are the glue, and the backbone of the public service. Whether it be the Ministry of Health, whether it be a sub-agency under a ministry, or any other agency that comes under the umbrella of ‘public service’, you’re the glue, and you’re the ones who will make the rest of the public service give the kind of service that is expected by the public,” she told the participants.
Minister Parag further said that the need and want for change needs to come from within.
“We can’t go to work every day thinking that it’s just a job that I’m going to be paid for at the end of the month; we can’t just go to work and do that. We have to put our best foot forward, irrespective of what is happening, because somebody is waiting on you. Someone else is relying on you so they can have some satisfaction,” she added.
The Public Service Ministry’s Ministerial Advisor, Dr. Jennifer Westford, in her remarks stated that personnel officers are the corner stone of the public service.
“That is where our human resource management resides. And if we do not have a proper human resource system in place, a strong human resource system, our building, which is our public service, is on shaky ground,” the former public service minister said.
Further, she identified the personnel officers as the social workers of the public service, as their responsibility starts from the recruitment phase, all the way to resignation and retirement.
“You have that responsibility. You’re supposed to be ensuring that their tenure within the public service is unhindered, that they’re happy with what they’re experiencing,” she remarked.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Service, Soyinka Grogan also spoke during the opening.
She explained that personnel practitioners are those persons charged with ensuring that the organisations’ management and employees receive the expert opinion, timely advice and guidance at the micro level and the formulation, interpretation and application of rules and regulations.
The PS noted that all personnel practitioners should be aware of their roles and purposes.
“Personnel practitioners must be cognisant of their operational environment, that is, their economic, social and political environment. In the current dispensation, personnel practitioners should seek to be knowledgeable of the thrust of the government towards national development,” she said
Grogan stated that these practitioners should seek to positively influence the organisational culture, finding ways and demonstrating the practical application of new practices in personnel management so as to ensure efficiency in their organisation.
