President Granger has to shake up his gov’t in 2019

Dear Editor,

In reference to the SN December 13, 2018 news story, `No-confidence motion debate on December 21st,’ I think the no-confidence motion is a combination of a public relations stunt to accentuate the PPPs image and consolidate Bharrat Jagdeo’s hold on the party, and a rolling of the dice to see if Jagdeo and the PPP just might get lucky.

A one-seat parliamentary majority does not provide this government with any sort of comfortable cushion in event one member, for any unforeseen circumstance, fails to turn up for the debate and vote. This is why the government has to ensure its Chief Whip in Parliament has the votes needed to prevent the collapse of the government via any no-confidence vote, if that eventuality occurs. Maybe the government will survive the vote, like Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May did on Wednesday, December 12?

Anyway, the government’s recent pathetic LGE performance and this no-confidence motion/vote should serve as wake-up calls for President David Granger to shake up the government in 2019. There is no way he can keep the current crop of Cabinet ministers and expect the Coalition to retain power in 2020. Go out and find some technocrats for the Cabinet. There is also no way he can continue presiding over the government the way he has for the past 37 months. Much will depend on his health and whether he already has started a succession plan.

Editor, I have tried, with very limited success, to steer clear of personality politics when it comes to identifying possible leaders to run government, but in the absence of a formidable alternative to the PPP and PNC, I think a ‘President Moses Nagamootoo’, as part of a formidable Coalition ticket for 2020, could produce attention-grabbing campaign pictures and news stories.

Nevertheless, regardless of how the no-confidence motion/vote turns out, I firmly believe the time has come for a government that is finally of the people, for the people and by the people. Time to stop voting for parties that then go on to do whatever they want, including facilitating government corruption and inept governance. Time for a government that is answerable to the people during its term in office and not at the end of its term in office.

In sports, when teams don’t perform well, the owners sometimes fire the managers or coaches and even order benching and trading players for poor performance. Some team owners don’t even wait until the end of the season.

The same principles apply in the business sector, where board members and shareholders demand immediate management changes or run the long-term risk of closing down businesses. Unfortunately, the same principles are missing when it comes to politics. Poor performers in government position are literally retained or shifted around or even promoted.

Like many observers, I do believe there are Guyanese, at home and abroad, who are capable of providing requisite leadership in government if they can only think outside the box. In fact, I did have a brief encounter with Christopher Ram at Giftland Mall, East Coast, Demerara, in mid-October, and asked him why he doesn’t consider a run for political office, and he said he preferred to be a voice that advocates for change.

There are many like Mr. Ram, with a firm grasp of the governance problems facing Guyana and with access to a reservoir of solutions, but with no desire or interest to go beyond being an advocate for change to become an agent of change. The problem with this rigid position is that it will only allow us to keep reading, for the foreseeable future, their incisive views on the issues.

Editor, beyond next Friday’s no-confidence motion/vote, and in preparation for the next national elections (scheduled or unscheduled), Guyanese urgently need to start focusing on having a government that returns to the proven basic management by objectives principles, which require every elected, appointed and hired government employee to have their work measured in terms of actual performance against set objectives/goals/targets.

In 2015, more people voted for the Coalition based on the messages or promises which resonated with them. Elected politicians then took over the government and appointed or hired people to help execute the agenda to achieve those promises. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, the elected, the appointed and the hired seem to forget the promises made, hence the 2018 LGE rebuke.

Truth is, for decades, it seems that there has been no working system or mechanism in place to help government gauge how it is performing on a quarterly or semiannual basis in order to make adjustments regarding methods or manpower. Instead, governments wait at the end of the five-year term to ask for another five-year term, while the private media, playing its Fourth Estate role, are forced to expose government’s shortcomings and corrupt behaviours.

The next government should not have to reward constituents with jobs and business contracts based on the fact that the recipients voted along racial lines or support the party in government. Rather, the government should appoint, hire and award contracts on the basis of merit. If you can do the job, based on qualifications and or experience, you get hired or retained as a contractor on that basis.

Being a party member or supporter should no longer be reason to keep you working. Government contractors who also fail to deliver should be blacklisted.

It is against that foregoing background that I strongly believe we need a business-oriented government that returns to basic management by objective principles and not one that operates on mere party affiliation or racial outlook. Once we have mastered basic management by objectives, we are ready for advanced management by objectives. Until then, we will continue to be bedevilled by the plague of corrupt and inept governance of the last 52 years, and a no-confidence vote by Guyanese fleeing to greener pastures.

Yours faithfully,

Emile Mervin