IN an address to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) two years ago, President Irfaan Ali called for a “new standard of performance and professionalism.”

Of course, this call is not limited to the Police Force but extends to those in our workforce throughout the country. Our falling standards have been a cause of concern for leaders going as far back as former Prime Minister Dr Ptolemy Reid, who said in the 1980s that on declaring independence from the British, this country had “thrown away the baby with the bath water.”

He was at the time referring to the declining standards of courtesy and behaviour prevalent in Guyana. Now this decline has permeated all levels of our society, to the extent that many seem to feel that bad manners and shoddy service are synonymous with our newfound independence and status as a Republic.

This country is known as ‘the land of many waters’ and has six peoples—El Dorado—with enormous mineral wealth and, lately, vast oil reserves.
Our land is a cultural melting pot, recently augmented by an influx of people from countries as diverse as the United States, India, and the Middle East and from our own ‘backyard’, Cuba, Venezuela, and the West Indies.

Many come as tourists, while others now live and work here, attracted by jobs in the now-booming oil and gas industry. In this changing landscape, it has become increasingly clear that training in non-traditional areas is needed to supplement the usual educational fare.

We are way behind many Caribbean countries in this respect and particularly Trinidad and Tobago, where several organisations offer a variety of courses on subjects such as etiquette and protocol.

For many of us here these terms seem ‘highbrow’ and the lessons beyond our reach, though an increasing number of local agencies, like the University of Guyana, have begun paying attention to these subject areas and offering short courses.

However, children are emerging from our schools with an impressive list of subjects studied and grades achieved, but have little or no social graces.
They do not know how to behave in certain settings, such as formal or informal meals and the saying ‘manners maketh man’ bears no significance for them. But they are not alone. Many in our wider society are just as guilty.

Given the changing dynamics in our country, particularly in our blossoming tourism sector, the time is past due for our population to get on par with our Caribbean neighbours and the rest of the world when it comes to raising our standard of professionalism and social skills.

Addressing an Agri-investment Forum and Expo two years ago, President Ali suggested that, “Guyana and the Caribbean need to utilise each other’s competitive advantage”. This notion can and should be expanded to include other areas of co-operation.

I was therefore heartened to learn that a local group, Management Options, has designed a comprehensive list of courses, under what they call the D.E.P.T.H. Initiative (Deportment, Etiquette, Protocol within the context of Tourism and Hospitality).

The group is collaborating with a Trinidadian organisation- Etiquette School of the Caribbean – and plans to launch its first three-day course on Etiquette shortly. Announcements will be made on the timing and details of the course in the coming weeks.