Georgetown: The initiative of the Ministry of Finance to teach and enforce the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of administration has attracted the attention of the Government of Suriname.
This is according to Dr. Ray Rist, during the opening of a Ministry of Finance M&E workshop at the Grand Coastal Inn, today. Dr Rist is a renowned authority on developing M&E systems for governments.
“Guyana has one of the strongest M&E systems in all of South America and I’m sure in the entire region,” Dr. Rist said. “They (Suriname) heard what’s going on in Guyana and called, they too want what Guyana now has.”
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh who was also in attendance, explained that these periodic workshops are aimed at making Government more accountable, transparent and efficient to the benefit of the people of Guyana. He noted that every sector has an essential role to play in contributing to national development, regardless of its size or budget size.
“As administrators, you have to constantly examine ways in which your offices and those of your respective Ministries can be managed more effectively and efficiently, to achieve the outcomes that you aim for,” said the Minister.
Achieving those targets however, has to be done in a systematic and structured framework, he stated.
The framework the Minister alluded to is part of the changes Government has made to parliamentary procedures, and legislative changes in the Constitution.
The Minister asserted that these changes have led to stronger mechanisms for oversight with explicit recognition of the need to measure programme performance as outlined in the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003. This, along with the inclusion of value for money audits in the Audit Act, ensures that the legislative foundation for results based management is in place.
Minister Singh said while it is government’s responsibility to ensure that the wheels of Government keep turning, it also needs to evaluate how it conducts its business and consider how it can be done better.
Speaking on the issue of government being more efficient in its conduct of business, Dr. Rist said one goal of the workshop is to show attendees how to work smarter, not necessarily harder.
“I am very proud of what is happening in Guyana,” he said. “You have vision and perseverance, Guyana is truly on its way.”
Dr. Rist will focus on topics which will cover steps to building and designing an M & E system. Over 35 participants from various government budget offices will be attending the week – long workshop.
Dr. Rist is the co-founder of the International Programme for Development Evaluation Training which is an executive training programme that aims to provide managers and practitioners with the generic tools required to evaluate development policies, programs, and projects at the local, national, regional, and global levels. It features in-depth workshops, taught by renowned international faculty members drawn from Southern and Northern organisations.
