Recently a question was asked as to why it was that residents in West Indian Islands usually praised their countries while Guyanese were in the habit of ‘bad talking’ Guyana?
The question is not difficult to answer at the present time. Two or three electricity outages every day is enough reason to ‘bad talk’ Guyana. Some consumers may think that their electricity bills will show a decline in consumption. But not so. With the refrigerators going on and off, the consumption will increase. Some businesses, such as the printing business when it is difficult to use a generator, will show an increase in cost. That cost may be passed on to consumers.
And what is happening at Guyana Water Inc (GWI)? A few years ago the Public Utilities Commission ordered a 10 per cent increase in rates for non-metered customers. Since that date the GWI has reduced the supply to persons living in upper flats. From the morning of Friday, November 23, to the evening of November 26, not a drop of water flowed through the taps in the upper flats in Subryanville. No complaint can be made over the weekend to GWI as the telephones are unattended.
Tenants are occupying houses for years and paying not a cent in rent. There is no redress.
Students register for law at the University of Guyana, are successful but cannot practise until they attend law school in Trinidad. It is reported that a promise to establish a law school in Guyana was made some years ago but no action was taken. A consumer who claims that she was cheated by a relative, wishes to appeal but no date is set for a hearing. How long will she have to wait?
In the midst of all these grievances it is little wonder that Guyanese complain against their country.
However, it should be noted that Guyanese themselves may be causing problems. The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) plods ahead with the setting of standards. Many resist. We have appealed to owners of small businesses to register with ISO. Consumers do not wish to see that peanut butter has been manufactured by some foreign company for a company in Guyana.
We now set out the steps to be taken for a small business to obtain the Quality Management System registration.
Steps to ISO 9001 Quality Management System Registration
1. Pre-implementation phase
Conduct gap analysis – to determine where the organisation is and where it needs to be.
Development of implementation plan
ISO 9001 Training of personnel.
2. Development of documentation to reach requirements of the standard
* Identification, development and documentation of mandatory and non-mandatory procedures.
* Development of quality manual/policy manuals.
3. Documentation review and approval phase
4. Implementation phase
* Includes conducting of internal quality audits.
* Pre-assessment audit
5. Preparation for certification phase
GNBS facilitates contact with the registration/certification body.
