According to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency, Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine has been “transferred” to a department that is being created within the Ministry of the Presidency to “oversee” the public service, which is presently within the remit of Minister of State Joseph Harmon. For a senior Minister, in one of the most critical ministries in Government, to be made a “department head” cannot be seen as anything less than what it is – a demotion. The question is “why”?
The State-owned Chronicle suggested the move was precipitated by the inability of Dr Roopnaraine to fulfil his mandate as Education Minister because of “poor health” and that on several occasions, he had to be represented by Junior Education Minister Nicolette Henry. This information, however, was not contained in the official announcement, if for no other reason it would have contradicted the official rationale. To wit, that with his responsibilities for the Public Sector, Roopnaraine would be adding to the “quality of service which is provided to the people of Guyana.” If Dr Roopnaraine is ill, why would the Government saddle him with as key institution as the public service?
It is conceded by most analysts that one of the major fetters on Guyana’s development has been the poor quality of service and professionalism delivered by our public service. One of the key variables why Singapore, for instance, was able to reach “first world” status after starting at the same level as us in the 1960’s, was their professional and incorruptible public service. As far back as 1989, when the then People’s National Congress (PNC) government under Desmond Hoyte, signed onto the Economic Recovery Programme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), one of their “conditionalities” was the downsizing and professionalising of the public service.
Hoyte started the threshold process of downsizing, but when the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) replaced the PNC as the Government in 1992, they halted it because of the PNC strident cries of “ethnic cleansing”. They were caught in a bind since many “square pegs in round holes” in the public service did not have the requisite skills for optimum performance. They had only been hired because of the PNC’s policy of hiring based on the possession of a PNC “party card”. The PPP got around that hurdle in acquiring needed skills by employing “contract workers”.
While the PNC/APNU and AFC had criticised the practice, they have actually increased the number of contracted employees in the public service, even as they announced the formation of the Bertram Collins College of the Public Service for training. The Government has to get serious about public service reform especially since they have the critical credential for that job with public servants being part of their “constituency” and can “bite the bullet” with the least disruption. An ailing Dr Roopnaraine, then, in charge of improving the public service, would not allow the Government to make the root and branch shakeup of the public service. Joseph Harmon would still be effectively in charge of a pliable but moribund public service, while Nicolette Henry will be in charge of education.
But there was another elephant in the room on the “reassignment” of Dr Roopnaraine, who represents the WPA in the APNU coalition: the fact that it was done on the anniversary of the assassination of Dr Walter Rodney, de facto leader of the WPA. The CoI into Rodney’s death had bluntly stated “…we conclude that Prime Minister Burnham knew of the plan and was part of the conspiracy to assassinate Dr Walter Rodney.”
In the past week, Dr David Hinds, and Executive member of the WPA had made representation in the State Chronicle that the Government – which includes the WPA – should not “marginalise” the contributions of Rodney towards building “social cohesion”. He asked, “Where are the Rodneyite ideas in the praxis of the Government?”
Maybe the “reassignment” of Dr Roopnaraine was an answer to Dr Hinds.
