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THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH WILL RISE FROM THE ASHES

Jul 21, 2009 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

No one in Guyana should be surprised when, in times of political controversy, acts of public arson, sabotage and heightened violence take place. After all, this has been the pattern in Guyana for a long time and particularly since 1997.
The authorities therefore were caught napping and ought to have been prepared for actions such as that which gutted the Ministry of Health in Brickdam in the wee hours of Friday morning. The authorities however may have been caught off-guard because of the relative political stability which the country has been enjoying since the last elections. It was high price to pay to have come to the recognition that one’s guard must never be lowered in Guyana.
The authorities must not make the same mistake again and it is pleasing to note that the government has indicated that it will be paying greater attention to security at government locations. This however must be a long-term exercise and one aimed at ensuring that there is adequate protection and, more importantly, security to deter any future attack.
Security at government buildings is not at its best. It is inconceivable that the Ministry of Health which was gutted on Friday morning, a facility that was valued perhaps in hundreds of millions of dollars, a sprawling complex that ran from one street to the next, was only being guarded by three persons.
It is no use now making excuses about not being satisfied with the level of security. Even outside of situations of political unrest, three guards at such a large facility would be totally unacceptable and the fact that this was recognised and nothing was done is more than unfortunate. The actions that are now being taken are akin to closing the stable doors after the horse has bolted.
But this is not a time for casting blame. Those behind the channa-bombing of the Ministry of Health would have found a way to achieve their goal. The primary concern must now be to secure all government property and this requires a revamping of the security systems at these institutions, inclusive of the installation of cameras around the perimeters and linked to an outside location so as to be able to indentify criminal activity.
In short, what this column is suggesting is not simply placing more guards at government locations. What is required is improved security through the use of cameras which would allow any illegal activity to be caught on tape.
This would allow the police to make the necessary arrests in case of any such criminal activity and also to deter any future acts of arson or sabotage.
The technology is available and it should be used to help secure government locations. Of course it will be costly but surely it cannot be more costly that what it will now cost the taxpayers of this country. Look what it will now mean for those workers whose services will no longer be required by the Ministry.
An important government facility has been gutted. It will have to be rebuilt and this will mean that persons employed will be made redundant and have to be sent home. And to be sent home during a global recession is not a good sign. This is very unfortunate.
A great deal of work which would have been done will also suffer. Records which have been lost will not be easy to come by and this too raises another concern about the storage of data within government buildings.
Guyana as a small country cannot afford to store all its documents electronically, especially considering that within bureaucracies there is a great deal of documentation which has little value after the initial use. But it is not the tradition within bureaucracies to simply destroy documents and so piles upon piles of unnecessary documents are kept for records sake. Solving the problem of record storage is not as easy as it seems.
The PPP Government is aware of the challenges that lie ahead. It is a government that has faced such problems before. It has track record of rebuilding and especially rebuilding what has been destroyed. The Ministry of Health will rise from the ashes.
Those who wish the government to look ridiculous will be reminded that whatever they destroy will be rebuilt.

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