…human resources need to now function in new economy
As Guyana embarks on a transformation of its infrastructural landscape, President Dr Irfaan Ali has underscored the need for a total revamp of the various services being offered in the country.
Speaking at a reception held last week for the Louisiana District Export Council (LDEC)-led largest trade delegation to Guyana, the Head of State pointed out that the country’s incoming traffic is expected to see a major increase in the coming years and there needs to be a change in the way things are done.
“Now, that means our entire services sector needs to revamp, to be reoriented. We have to train our human resources to function in this new economy we’re talking about where technology and science will play a key role,” he stated.
According to Ali, there will be infrastructure that will remove a lot of the subjective way of doing business. In fact, he pointed out that one of the things Government is looking to have technology do is to remove the human subjectivity at making decisions.
“So, everything must be systems-based and institutional-based. So, the system is what developed the results and not based on the discretion of someone or the mood of someone,” he pointed out.
Only two weeks ago, the Head of State announced that by the end of 2022, a single window approval system for construction permits will be activated, thereby removing the hurdles and consolidating several interagency procedures into one application document.
“What this single window application process will do is very simple. You deposit your application to one window. Electronically, it is sent to all the agencies that need to comment within a timeframe. If they don’t provide their comment, it is deemed approved. If they provide all their comments, the applicant gets a timeframe to respond to their comments. Once you respond to those comments and clear all the hurdles, they can’t come back with any new comments,” he had stated.
Last month, the Housing and Water Ministry held consultations with agency heads on the introduction of the single window system to make issuing planning and building permits a smoother process.
The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) hired experts from the Region for assistance in setting up this single window system. The increase in planning and construction has seen 1964 applications being processed by the CH&PA between the period of October 2020 and September 2022.
President Ali had acknowledged that many aspects of Guyana’s system are archaic. However, he noted that Government is constantly making strides to correct these issues and enable easy access for Guyanese.
“Is the system perfect? No, absolutely no. Is the system archaic? Many parts of the system are archaic. Are we fixing it? Yes, of course, we are fixing it,” he had asserted.
Nevertheless, the Head of State further pointed out during last week’s reception that what will help take Guyana to the next level is not only becoming a leader in the oil and gas sector but a major leader in climate services, environmental services, ecological services and biological services. He added that Guyana is probably amongst the top five countries with a development plan that inculcates this, that is, the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030.
“In all of these areas, we have great potential. We have the added gift of the revenues from oil and gas that must be used to unlock the potential of all these other advantages… Oil and gas will not create wealth. It is the unlocking of the diversified potential of our country that will lead to sustainable wealth creation, sustainable livelihood…,” he contended.
According to the Guyanese leader, his Administration is building the foundation for an economy that is functional, competitive, cutting edge and leading to function in a world 2030 and beyond.
“That economy must be able to withstand issues of climate change, it must be able to have the most complex financial system that is modern, that is rigid, that is transparent… Our entire country must be running on a technology platform that is cutting edge, that is efficient, that is reliable. Our technology in security must be cutting edge. Everything that we do is positioning Guyana to be cutting edge in all the different sectors,” President Ali said. (G8)
