Software developed to monitor public servants – Westford

The Public Service Ministry has acquired software that can track the productivity of the local workforce.

This has been disclosed by Public Service Minister Dr Jennifer Westford, who revealed that the ministry has mechanisms in place to monitor public servants, to ensure government gets tangible service from its employees.

The introduction of technology is part of the Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP), in which all government agencies will be interlinked and can mutually access information. Dr Westford has explained that exposure to technology is not license to be on wireless Internet and mobile devices. The public service minister explained that public servants may not be happy with the new software, but it supports efforts to ensure they are more effective and efficient, and that those they attend to receive satisfactory service.

Commenting on the emergence of e-governance, Dr Westford cautioned public servants not to discard their paperwork and hard copies of documents, since technology has the propensity to fail. 

“We have been trying to maintain this because we are aware that the private sector has not made itself capable of absorbing those people who emanate from UG, and we have many such persons out there.” However, she related that the public service cannot employ the entire nation, which emphasizes the need to refocus training in areas required by the private sector.        The public service minister stressed that the University of Guyana has trained more social workers than Guyana would ever need. As such, she implored the University of Guyana to shift its focus as it relates to the courses offered, as the public sector has become the preferred choice of employment. “Everyone has a degree in management, but how many managers are we going to have? We have more social workers than we would ever need. So, what we need are more technical people at the bottom who are not managers,” Dr Westford mentioned.       

She urged the university to re-evaluate the courses being offered, stating that an audit is needed on the real skills requirements of the country.

Dr Westford said the university needs to take up the mantle, but it can only be guided by the input of the government and the public sector. As such, the minister said, there will be collaboration with the Labour Ministry to conduct an audit of the necessary skills that are required in the local job market.