Dear Editor,
I wish to support the excellent letter written by Dr David Hinds in KN of February 1 making a strong case against terminating the services of proficient and effective officials on the basis of their age, irrespective of their competencies.
As a long-serving international Human Resource Management professional (and as one who is already past the biblical ‘three score years and ten’ but still gainfully employed), I can attest to the fact that age is not necessarily a measure of someone’s ability to perform well. Indeed, there are numerous examples of persons in their ʼ50s and ʼ60s who are already mentally and physically ‘challenged’ if not ‘retired’, while there are others who are decades older but still performing optimally.
The challenge is to assess persons based on objective appraisals of their performance and potential without undue consideration of their date of birth. This is especially important in our Guyana context where there is no surfeit of skilled and effective persons and where the dearth of suitable technical and professional persons is likely to become more acute in the coming years.
Why put out some of our skilled and effective Guyanese professionals to pasture on the questionable pretext of age while retaining even older others who are not necessarily more effective; in any event there is no proof that they are denying opportunities for younger compatriots.
Yours faithfully,
Nowrang Persaud
