Georgetown: The Ministry of Communities on Friday brought the curtains down on a two-day workshop to enlighten regional officials on the system of procurement and the importance of developing quality controls that can tangibly measure and serve as performance indicators.
Under the theme, “Action roundtable for regional development: Results-based management, procurement and project management” the seminar targeted Regional Executive Officers (REOs), Deputy Regional Executive Officers (DREOs) and regional engineers from across the 10 regions.
The forum was held in the training room of the National Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.
The objectives of the forum were to strengthen regional administration through leadership development and efficient procurement management, build regional leadership for application of result-based management techniques in the implementation of projects, enhance coordination and understanding among regional managers of national policies and promote an expanded and improved regional procurement system.
During his address, Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan said that central government has recognised the deficiencies in the system and therefore is committed to strengthening the roles of public administration.
As such, the forum was designed to better equip regional officials to discharge their responsibilities with greater efficiency and effectiveness.
He stressed the need for officials to observe two critical tenets of transparency and accountability.
“We will have provided you with not only the skills and understanding of results-based management, but have also shown you the merits of implementing these changes within your regional administrations,” the Communities Minister said.
Minister Bulkan stated that results-based management provides an adequate picture of whether or not resources, such as time and money, are expended to derive maximum benefit.
“Then, as citizens we can see if our regional bodies are delivering for us. The fog of ambiguity is removed and the results are clear for all to see. An awareness becomes part of the system and all those in government will be more accountable to those we represent,” Minister Bulkan remarked.
He pointed out that since the ministry has a better understanding of what works, it ensures that decisions are made based on evidence that allows for future economic benefit.
Minister Bulkan said results-based management removes much of the political discussion from decision-making with the ministry taking a facilitating rather than a direct role.
In the 2017 budget, Government has earmarked investment in public service delivery in an effort to ensure that Guyanese benefit from a high quality of service delivery in an efficient, transparent and accountable way.
“With further discussion and engagement, we will together be able to enact the Ministry of Finance’s target that is to “design, adopt, implement, and continuously monitor and evaluate a comprehensive, inclusive, transformative, and evidence-based strategic plan.”
Among the other presenters were economist Jason Fraser, who spoke on results-based management and the theory of change, Senior Technical Advisor, Gordon Gilkes and Project Engineer, Naeem Khan who highlighted the regional guidelines for procurement, contract and project management.
Executive Director of the Belize-based Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), Dr. Mark Bynoe, Ministry of Finance’s Budget Director, Sonya Roopnauth and teams from the Ministry of Health led by Permanent Secretaries, Trevor Thomas, George Jarvis and Balram Balraj.
Despite emerging challenges hindering the discharge of their mandate, regional officials have made strides in an effort to fulfill the needs of their various communities.
There is an increasing expectation of REOs, DREOs and engineers without the necessary technical and strategic support to get the desired results.
Cognisant of these challenges, the Ministry of Communities developed a forum for regional leaders from administration to engineering services in response to the Government’s effort to foster results-based management in the implementation of government programs and projects.
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