Unannounced visits: the reality check Guyana’s public service needs

Dear Editor,
I wish to commend the initiative of conducting unannounced visits to Government offices to see first-hand the type of service being provided to ordinary citizens.
Too often, senior officials receive reports about how efficiently their departments are operating, but the experience of the ordinary person standing at a counter can be very different.
An unannounced visit removes the opportunity for offices to prepare for an inspection and allows those in authority to witness the normal day-to-day operations of the agency.
From my own observations and the experiences repeatedly shared by members of the public, poor customer service is not confined to one Government office. Similar complaints can be heard about several Ministries and public agencies: long waiting periods, employees appearing uninterested in assisting citizens, people being sent from one officer to another, unanswered telephone calls, and members of the public sometimes being treated as though they are inconveniencing the very institutions established to serve them.
This should not be accepted as normal.
Public servants play an extremely important role in Guyana’s development, and there are undoubtedly many dedicated officers who perform their duties professionally. However, those employees should not have their reputations damaged by colleagues who fail to provide the standard of service expected of them.
I therefore believe unannounced visits should become a regular feature across Government Ministries and agencies. Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and senior managers should occasionally walk into their departments without advance notice, sit among citizens, listen to their complaints and observe how employees interact with the public.
The objective should not simply be to punish workers. It should be to identify weaknesses, improve training, strengthen accountability and ultimately create a public service in which citizens are treated with dignity and respect.
The Government has invested significantly in modernising public services. That progress must also be reflected in the human element of service delivery. A modern building, computerised system or new programme means little if citizens still leave a Government office frustrated by the treatment they receive.
Continue the unannounced visits. They provide decision makers with something that prepared reports sometimes cannot capture the reality on the ground.
Yours faithfully,
Quincy Anderson