At the end of this year the PPP/C will have spent a decade in office. It is a long time by the standards of the average democracy, even more so when it is considered that apart from a few new faces, the Cabinet is substantially the same one which started out in 1992. Under such circumstances it is difficult for the ministers to sustain the energy and enthusiasm which characterised the first years of the administration, and it is even more difficult for them to come up with new approaches and imaginative ideas.

Even in a small society like Guyana, running a government nowadays requires people of competence, both at the cabinet level and at the level of the bureaucracy. Given the reluctance of the PPP/C to radically restructure the Cabinet after the 1997 and the 2001 elections, one must presume that loyalty is still their most important criterion for accession to high office. And this despite the fact that some ministers after nine years on the job are still less than stellar performers.

Of course, it could reasonably be argued that after constitutional adjustments, the President is in any case limited to four technocratic appointments in his Cabinet, an unfortunate decision on the part of the constitutional reformers, which perhaps in time could be revisited. In addition, some of the non-party people Mr Jagdeo approached to fill those posts last year were reluctant to accept his offer. There is no denying that a great deal of work has still to be done on creating an atmosphere of 'inclusion' - a concept which has been subject to very different interpretations by the Government and Opposition - before some non-PPP people would accept ministerial appointment. That said, it is also probably the case that those who have built up a reputation in their field on account of their abilities would be leery of entering a Cabinet whose core members (both party and Civic) have not demonstrated any particular aptitude for their portfolios.

Even within the context of the party, however, one cannot help but feel that in 2001 the PPP could have thrown its net out to its own diaspora to attract men and women of exceptional talent onto its slate. And even as its parliamentary complement now stands, one cannot help but feel that there are those, not currently in the Cabinet, who perhaps merited a place there.

In addition to the inertia which seems to beset any Cabinet in office too long, there is the problem that the ministers appear to the public directionless. As several commentators have observed, the President has taken to traipsing around the country, doing the job that his ministers are supposed to be doing. And why is it that he cannot make them do what they are supposed to be doing? The answer is simply because he did not hire them, so to speak, and so he cannot fire them. He is President of Guyana, but he is not the leader of his party. He therefore has only limited leverage even in relation to his own government.

Of course it has to be acknowledged, that even the better ministers lack the quality of bureaucratic support which is essential in order to function effectively. However, over its two terms in office, the government has tended to be suspicious of those, who whatever their competence, did not appear to be sympathetic to the party. Criticism, whether made in good faith and on professional grounds or not, automatically damned the critic as belonging to the ranks of the opposition. While this was an infinitely greater problem in some ministries than in others, the general perception has been one that talent is not the primary prerequisite for employment in the higher echelons of the public service.

If there is any glimmer of hope on the horizon, it is the posting of Dr Kenneth King to the Brussels mission. It remains to be seen whether this is an isolated development, or whether it marks the beginning of a trend which will eventually reach all the way to the Cabinet.