Govt is the custodian not the owner of State enterprises

Dear Editor,
Any Government of the day is just the custodian of State enterprises, being so by consent of the people. Government is not the owner thereof, hence it must manage the business of these enterprises in a very transparent manner, such that can withstand public scrutiny.
Both Indo- and Afro–Guyanese people have common fears, which they respectively associate with a Government that is primarily different from their ethnicity. They both commonly fear discrimination at the hands of the State in the following areas: appointments of CEO and executive staff; selection of members of Boards of Directors; method of land distribution; awarding of scholarships; promotion in the public service, awarding of tenders etc….
We can begin to address these fears by starting with the appointment of CEO and executive staff to State enterprises. The recruitment of these managers should be done according to best Human Resource Management practices, with full transparency and accountability.
These executive positions should be advertised as widely as possible in the daily newspapers, as well as on the various Government websites, for at least a minimum of three consecutive weeks.
An interviewing panel should consist of selected members of the Board of Directors with or without independent practitioners of firms that specialise in recruitment, and there should be clear and precise job description and a guideline for the methodology for conducting the interview.
Based on this, short-listing of the potential candidates should be done, followed by their interviews and then their ranking for selection to fill the vacancy.
We cannot continue to appoint these managers to the various State enterprises stealthily and surreptitiously in the night, and more so if they are of one ethnicity, and hope to achieve national confidence of our citizenry in the functions of the state. Their appointments must be premised on a system of meritocracy, equality, fairness, and full transparency.

Yours sincerely,
Reggie Bhagwandin