THE Minister of Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation, Zulfikar Ally, has said that the government has achieved their initial goal of decentralising the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), passport, General Register Office (GRO) and identification card services.
This is being done through the Government of Guyana (GoG) Service Centres located at the West Central Mall in Region Three, and in Fort Wellington, Region Five.
In a matter of weeks, similar service centres will be opened in Regions Two and Six, Minister Ally announced.
In brief remarks on Wednesday, the minister shared that they have seen a record number of persons going to the centres already established to apply for their passports, birth and death certificates, marriage licences, among other important, and valuable documents. The E-IDs are also being applied for.
According to the minister, the biggest achievement for the government was placing these services in these regions, for Guyanese to access them where they are. This avoids unnecessary travelling to Georgetown where the main offices are located.
Noting that he is “happy with the high …turnout” he has seen, the Minister noted that they have received a significant amount of positive feedback from persons utilising the services being offered at the centres.
“They’re very appreciative that His Excellency has been keeping his promise of decentralising services, but not only decentralising services, ensuring that Guyanese are given or have access to government services in a very timely manner and being treated with dignity and respect in government service delivery as well,” the minister shared.
Looking at challenges faced, the minister said he believes that everyone has been working towards the success of this initiative, adding that he receives updates daily of how many persons have been seen and how many documents have been delivered to persons.
In addition to this, the minister spoke positively about the recently launched Citizen Connect App.
He said so far, over 300 persons have uploaded reports on various issues within their communities as well as personal issues they are facing.
He said the agencies are working to rectify these issues, and, already, they have resolved a large number of them, while others are being worked on to get to the resolution stage.
According to the minister, the Connect App is a portal for citizens to connect directly to government agencies for them to see what the issues are.
The Citizens Connect App is available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
“So, no longer do they have to go into an agency or call. They can just use their smartphones and upload the issues, and they will see in real time as well how their issues are being dealt with and tracked within the government system,” he explained.
Minister Ally stated further that while some issues can be resolved within 24 hours, others may take longer. The most important feature, he said is that citizens will see, and will be kept updated until their issue is resolved.
