It is hard not to be impressed with the manner in which the Minister of Housing and Water, Shaik Baksh has replied in a detailed and timely manner to queries raised by many readers over the last six months . These queries have been concerned with housing projects and squatter settlements all over the country. The records show that (quite apart from the water portfolio which involves the extension and improvement of the supply of water throughout the country) this has been one of the busiest ministries, involved in the allocation of thousands of house lots and efforts to develop the infrastructure in those projects. There have also been attempts to regularise squatter settlements in several areas. None of this is straightforward work, dealing with many people is involved and given the constraints on human and material resources a lot can go wrong. The potential bottlenecks are numerous.

It has been well said that the busiest people usually have the most time. One finds this frequently in the course of everyday life. People who are patently underemployed never seem to have the time to undertake anything extra. Others who are heavily stretched in their existing commitments always seem to be able to fit in something else. It is all about an attitude to life and work and the organising of time. Interestingly, Mr Baksh comes out of a background of teaching management at the University of Guyana. This no doubt helps to enable him to see problems in a focussed way and to develop methods of dealing with them. It is a facility not many of his colleagues are blessed with, indeed some would say it is notable by its absence in political circles generally, in Guyana and further afield.

Public accountability for the subjects covered by one’s portfolio should be the acid test for the appraisal of the performance of any minister. Ideally, certain targets and objectives should be set each year (or other specified period) by which the success or failure of a minister and a ministry can be judged. Indeed, reformers of governmental practices elsewhere have done work and made proposals along these lines. In some ministries this kind of definition of targets is easier than in others. But with a little thought and creativity guidelines can be laid down for any ministry, whether it be education, home affairs or foreign affairs. This imposition of standards of performance would be a big step forward in encouraging ministers to fulfil the expectations of those who elected them. If a minister failed egregiously, his fate would be clear.

Guyana is a small country. Solutions are in principle available to many of the social and economic problems as a careful perusal of the National Development Strategy will show. It’s the politics that’s been the problem, we haven’t been able to manage our own affairs effectively. It would be fascinating to be a fly on the wall at a cabinet meeting to see how efficiently the agenda is set, how productively the topics are discussed and whether decisions are taken or continually deferred. It is on this ‘culture’ of executive and administrative capacity that our development (indeed the development of any country) will ultimately depend. Words mean nothing without the ability to translate them into action. Economic development is ultimately about the ability of people to understand what needs to be done and to do it. It is a cultural problem, in the widest sense of that word.

The ability to respond effectively and quickly to questions on the status of housing projects and squatter settlements is an indication at the very least that the minister has a clear idea of what’s going on in his ministry. He cannot solve all the problems himself as much of that work has to be delegated and done by others, civil servants. There will be bottlenecks, shortages of human, material and financial resources from time to time. But good leadership can set the example, and can help to build an effective team. Accountability is evidence that a ministry is functioning, it is alive and kicking.