Dear Editor,
As with any change of the guard, there is an initial period of euphoria by supporters of the new order which soon gives way to more measured critique. President Granger himself said celebrations should be short and sober, so I don’t think he will mind if I switch to critique mode. Both Drs Jeffrey and Hinds have made critiques of the current cabinet, but neither provided constructive guidance to our new policy-makers. While I agree with their general points, one needs to offer workable alternatives for consideration. As a preamble, let me highlight the most glaring anomalies of our new cabinet: worryingly, there has been a lack of consultation between our new President and the APNU+AFC coalition on the make-up and direction of the ministries; lack of clarity in the roles and responsibilities of the new ministries; and a tendency to make ministries out of what should really have been departments.
Coalition governments are usually larger than single party governments and the reasons for this are obvious; this however does not mean that the logic behind the ministries should be beyond description. If we look at our closest Caricom neighbours, both of which are led by coalitions, one finds Guyana’s newly enlarged cabinet actually smaller than both Suriname and Trinidad. Guyana now has two fewer ministries than Suriname’s 18 and almost half of Trinidad’s 30. If one looks further afield, the UK under the Conservative-Lib Dem Coalition had around 22 ministries with over 30 ministers (if one removes the Ministers and Secretaries responsible for Scotland, Northern Island and Wales); Kenya under the Grand Coalition also has 22 ministers, but would have even more had the number not been capped by the new constitution. Thus, it is clear that the size of a country’s cabinet is not related to the population of the country, but rather an assessment of needs. In many cases, political expediency may outweigh the desire for smaller government, but this is not new or unique to Guyana. What is important is not the number of ministries but rather the coherence of their functions. If one is to pick apart the current assemblage, it is clear that the new cabinet still leaves a lot to be desired. A glaring omission that highlights this is the fact there is no clear portfolio for Gender or Technology for that matter.
Below is one suggestion for a more efficient configuration of cabinet, that speaks to the Coalition Manifesto and our own needs. The guiding principle is a need for joined up government; that is a cabinet in which roles are not duplicated and which are built around function rather than personalities. More focus needs to be placed on the departments and complementarity, rather than compartmentalization.
- Ministry of Trade − Departments of Business and Micro-Finance; Skills, Technology and Innovation; Trade and Investment
- Ministry of Indigenous Affairs
- Ministry of Cabinet Affairs – Office of the President; Office of the Prime Minister; Cabinet Support and Research Department
- Ministry of Communities and Local Government – Department of Communal Lands Commission
- Ministry of Media and Culture − Broadcast Commission; Department of Culture
- Ministry of Education – Primary and Secondary Departments; Higher Education; Technical Institutes (including teacher training)
- Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries – Departments of Agriculture; Fisheries and Aquaculture; GuySuCo; Nari
- Ministry of Social Protection – Departments of Pensions; Gender; Child Welfare
- Ministry of Home Affairs – National Security; Attorney General; Justice; Policing; Immigration Services
- Foreign Affairs – International Affairs; Trade and Investment
- Ministry of Health
- Housing & Urban Planning
- Defence
- Tourism, Sport and Youth
- Public Infrastructure & Works
- Finance
- Natural Resources
In some instances, such as in the case of the Department for Trade and Investment, one finds it both under the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Affairs; this means it’s one department that has staff in one ministry and a small liaison bureau to coordinate business with the other. I have attempted to remove the glut of ministries under the presidency as this is not only inefficient, but a concentration of power that goes against the spirit of the Cummingsburg Accord. Instead, the functions of the Office of the President are now sub-departments of the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, which includes the Office of the Prime Minister and a policy research unit.
While not an extensive list of departments, the above is designed to serve as an outline as to the possibilities available and some options for more sustainable reform. Guyana possesses a huge number of experts who work both locally and internationally in the area of governance and public administration, and it seems to me that consultations on the composition of the parliament should have tapped into this resource. While it is too early now for a reshuffle, perhaps there is scope for a wider consultation and strategic thinking when it comes to the configuration of departments within ministries.
Yours faithfully,
Kwesi Sansculotte Greenidge