President Irfaan Ali yesterday announced in Berbice that the Office of the President will operate out of a different region each month as efforts are continuing to bring government services closer to citizens.
The Office of the President staff and representatives from the various ministries and agencies will be at State House in New Amsterdam today from 8 am as they continue their two-day programme in Region Six. It is expected that today, in addition to continuing to meet with residents of Region Six, President Ali will also caucus with members of the business community and young entrepreneurs.
At the start of the two-day initiative yesterday, President Ali stressed that since his government took office “we have been going to you, we’re not waiting for you to come” as such he said, that one of the initiatives launched yesterday is the Office of the President “the full office will operate out of every region in a different month.”
The monthly initiative is expected to be for two days.
He explained, “So this month, today and tomorrow, we will be operating out of Region Six… So the entire office, the President’s Office will be situated here at State House in Region Six for the next two days, operating from here so that we can be in touch with you so you can feel the highest office at your disposal and have easy access to the highest office.”
Also present yesterday were technical teams from the Ministry of Housing and Water; the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security; the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Agriculture; the National Insurance Scheme; the Guyana Office for Invest-ment (G-Invest); the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA); the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission; the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL).
The President told those gathered yesterday that his government is not distant from the people of the country as they believe in “serving the people.” He noted, “We operate with you, taking your concerns and your realities into consideration.”
According to him, the initiative is not about passing the buck from the regional institutions but rather is to bring the heads of agencies to the region – ultimately fast-tracking the process to deal with issues coming from citizens.
He noted that at the location they are also connected to every single office in Georgetown via technology, “and we are not only connected by phone but we are also connected by video link so every issue that you have will be dealt with here centrally.”
He then pointed out that while major projects and infrastructure are important for a country, the transformation of people’s lives requires much more than that. “It requires us taking responsibility for ourselves, it requires us behaving and acting in a different way, the way we treat the environment, the way we treat each other, the way we respect the elders, the way we take care of the children, the way we take care of women in our society, the way in which men go about their role and responsibilities. It’s a number of issues that are not money related that makes the biggest difference”, he said.
Yesterday, President Ali met individually with dozens of residents in Region Six where issues ranging from GWI, land and health to several social issues were heard.
In his opening remarks, he stressed, that the initiative is not only about listening to the issues but to bring all to a finality “so that you don’t have the bureaucracy or hassle.”
He added. “At the end of the day, you’ll have a direct connection with my office to resolve your issues.”
The President added that after citizens visit the location and raise their issues, staff from his office will follow up thus removing that burden from citizens.
Ali said that “this is the level of seriousness that we are taking in dealing with issues” stressing that the initiative will strengthen governance, improve its efficiency and enhance the delivery of services to citizens throughout the country.
