Hundreds of persons yesterday turned up at the Square of the Revolution, to take part in the ‘Government comes to you” initiative.
As a part of the initiative, representatives of various ministries of the government and agencies affiliated with the ministries, were on deck to listen and assist members of the public with their concerns.
Various ministers and heads of departments from over 20 ministries and agencies were present at the outreach and were able to interact with members of the public.
At the opening of the event, which started at 9 am, Minister of State Joseph Harmon, told those gathered that government developed the initiative because oftentimes, persons are not inclined to visit the ministries. Harmon added that the initiative will be taken to other parts of the country to “bring Government services to the people”.
Harmon told members of the public that the outreach is also a part of the government’s commitment under Article 13 of Constitution, which speaks to inclusive governance. “Basically, it says that you the people, must have access to your elected officials and in having that access, this is how [we] can better empower you, this is how we can better strengthen our democracy,” the minister stated.
He later added that the government has recently opened new offices for the Lands and Surveys Commission, and will be opening a few other immigration and passport offices around the country. “A few weeks ago, we opened offices of the Lands and Surveys Commission and we’re going to be opening offices of the passport and birth certificate offices all across this country, that is basically taking the government to the people, that is empowering you, the people so you don’t have to spend the money to get to the offices, so we will get to you,” he stated.
Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, who also spoke at the opening of the outreach, applauded members of the public for coming out to the event. “I’m happy that we can provide this service to you. Many times we hear that our residents find it difficult to interact with our ministers and important agencies but today we are providing you that opportunity to be able to speak with ministers, to speak with various agencies and to find solutions to many issues which might be affecting you,” she stated.
Ally further added that the coalition government would like to ensure that residents of Guyana enjoy the “good life” promised by the government.
Members of the public were asked to assemble under a tent so that they could receive a number and be registered, after which, they were directed to the agencies specifically related to their concerns.
The initiative was well received by attendees, as most were able to meet with the agencies to have their issues addressed. One woman, who identified herself as Wendy, stated that she was very happy that the government came up with the outreach project.
While she applauded the government for the initiative, she stated that she hopes that positive things come out as a result of it. “I hope that they ain’t just come out here to just talk. I hope that things can get done, you know? Because if nothing comes out of this it would be like people come out and waste they time you know?” Wendy said.
Another member of the public, Sharon (only name given), stated that she heard of the outreach after her neighbour informed her about it. Sharon stated that she came to find out about the process to apply for a house lot. “The concern I come to see about is how I could apply for a land and if I could do it out here right now,” Sharon said.
Jason (only name given), who had also come to the outreach to speak with representatives from the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CH&PA), praised the initiative and stated that he hopes that it becomes a monthly event. “This is a good thing man, is good to see these ministers actually come out here and talk to we one on one. I glad they do this cause most time when you go into these people office, is one set of running around you does deh pon. I think they should got something like this monthly, cause you see how much people deh out here? Everybody won’t get the chance to speak with the minister by the end of today, so if they keep it monthly, other people that didn’t get a chance to meet could get a chance,” Jason said.
When Stabroek News approached Minister of Public Telecommunications Cathy Hughes, while she was speaking to members of the public, the minister stressed the importance of the outreach, as the government is able to get the feedback from the public.
“People have concerns, they want to know that we can begin to address the concern. People raised the fact that there are issues that we have been dealing with as a country for more than ten years,” she related.
Hughes added that from her interactions with persons, concerns have mainly been raised about landline services in certain areas. “A lot of the concerns that I’m getting today are persons that have concerns regarding landlines; new housing areas that still don’t have landlines. In today’s world especially, people are looking for landline, not necessarily just for the phone but for access to the internet”.
Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, who was also there interacting with members of the public, stated that he likes the initiative and feels that it should be carried out more often. Gaskin stated that he felt the initiative was well accepted by the public. “Based on our interactions, we’re here genuinely interested in resolving some of the problems that people have and we think that sometimes, the presence of all these agencies, the presence of ministers here also, I think they’re all contributing and I think people are more confident that this is a forum that things can get done because they are many eyes on many people and I see things getting done here,” said Gaskin.
When asked if there are plans to carry this initiative to other parts of the country and possibly having another outreach in Georgetown, Hughes stated, “We already have days planned and within the next month we are going to Region Five, Region Six and Region Three”.
Gaskin, however, stated that after a review of the outreach is done, the government will be better able to assess which areas are urgently in need of such an outreach.
“I think once we do a review of this activity, I think it is needed to be done in other regions and other areas…I’m seeing a lot of people here who are from Region Ten, Five and Six, so I don’t know if we need to but when we do a proper assessment, we will know whether this is needed in another region or we need to do it back right here,” Gaskin said.
