Dear Editor,

If there is a minister of government who has delivered and done excellently since his/her appointment, it has to be the Human Services and Social Security Minister Priya Manickchand. Her performance under duress in one of the toughest ministerial positions has been stellar. This is a ministry that deals with pain, tragedy, angst and horrific circumstances on a daily basis.

This is a ministry where the tragedies, failures, breakdowns and shortcomings of our society are revealed at last, often with agonizing results. She has marshalled this ministry with great discipline and has performed incredibly despite obvious issues with insufficient resources, inadequate staff and other problems endemic to Guyana.

She came to office without any lengthy background of service or experience and has, in my humble opinion, outshone her ministerial colleagues. She is bright, articulate and most critically gets the job done, a characteristic that is largely missing in government in Guyana. We know the PPP is considering its rather slim leadership options for 2011. The slate is a platter of diehards or blowhards, if one considers the standard range of choices from Mr Ramotar to Mr Ramkarran to Mr Robert Persaud to whoever else is provided from the young male cadre of the party.

Getting the job done and doing it superbly counts in my book as the greatest criterion for judging leadership in a shadow of a society where incompetence and inefficiency reigns. If anyone can deliver with shining results in a maze of bureaucracy and inadequacy they warrant recognition. Showing astute technocracy and results realization in Guyana must be commended. Would the PPP consider Minister Manickchand for the presidency given the ascendancy of her performance, or is she too female, too young and too inexperienced for the inner circle’s liking?

Yours faithfully,
Michael Maxwell