How things have changed
Editorial
Guyana Chronicle
November 2, 2003
WITH ALL the important developments and events taking place nationally, regionally and internationally, it is quite possible for even the more critical local observers to have missed the significance of brief remarks at Friday's ceremonial handing over of the latest annual Report of the Auditor General.
The Auditor General (ag), Mr. Balraj Balram, in presenting the Speaker, Mr. Ralph Ramkarran, with two copies of the 2002 annual report, apologised for the late delay as he alluded to difficulties that prevented him from doing so earlier.
In turn, the Speaker disclosed that he was quite well aware of "the constraints" the AG's department and others in the public service faced, but was pleased to have been informed in writing earlier that there would be a delay in the presentation of the report.
The cynics may view this as insignificant. Far from it. The apology and explanation offered for a late presentation served to highlight the extent to which the PPP/Civic administration has succeeded in moving this nation from a sick culture of arrogance and lack of public accountability that had become virtually institutionalised in the body politic.
Then, it was the norm for reports from the Auditor General to be delayed not by months, a year or two, but much more. At one stage, there were no such reports for more than five years.
Inevitably, while there remains room for improvement in public accountability and transparency, even the harshest critics of the present government must concede that in our current dispensation, receiving on a regular basis the annual report of the Auditor General belongs to the new and most welcome political culture.
The ministries, departments and divisions within the public sector that have helped to make possible the fostering of this new culture of accountability and transparency deserve to be commended, even as hope is kept alive for better cooperation from all sectors of the public service.
Efficiency and Transparency
The more efficient and transparent the operations of the various sectors of the public service become, the better it would be for the nation as a whole, not just for the government. This is true in relation to the Guyana Revenue Authority as it is for Customs, Immigration, Water, Medical and other vital areas of the public sector.
It is alarming to know, for instance, that millions of dollars are being lost to the national treasury every month because of default or lack of cooperation by some members of high profile professions. Likewise, when customs and the water authority are robbed of what really belongs to the national purse, it is the Guyanese people who are the ultimate losers.
In this context, we also note that it is not only the government currently crying out against those who are failing to honour their financial obligations to the State.
The Guyana Power and Light Company is now engaged in a new campaign of its own to end the sheer robbery being committed against it by unscrupulous subscribers, approximately 18,000 of whom are mysteriously showing "zero electricity consumption", according to the company's General Manager.
Traditional critics and the established political opposition of the PPP/Civic administration would not be expected to agree, but the government, nevertheless, deserves much credit for creating the environment and fostering the policies and programmes, slow as some of them may be, for the changes that have taken place for what today undoubtedly exists as a healthier, democratic society.
The apology and explanation offered at last Friday's presentation of the Auditor General's Report indeed reminds us how things have significantly changed for the better with improved governance.
It is to be hoped that last week's plea by the Chancellor of the Judiciary, Desiree Bernard, for more judges to help in dealing with the massive backlog of cases and, generally strengthen the judiciary, will also find the kind of official response that corresponds with the mood for improved justice and governance.