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READING BETWEEN THE ADS

Aug 16, 2010 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Going through the advertisements in the newspapers can provide an idea of the bigger problems that are afflicting the governance of our country.
Take for example one advertisement in last week’s newspapers indicating a vacancy in the Ministry of Home Affairs for a Treaty Officer. This selected person is expected to provide guidance to the Minister on legal assistance treaties in criminal matters. He or she is also expected to deal with extradition cases.
Now this is an important position and quite understandably, the applicant must be an attorney at law or a legal practitioner with one year post administration experience.
This position however is not likely to be filled. Why? Because the salary that is on offer is $133, 716 per month.
Some lawyers make this sum per case and it is therefore difficult to see how the Ministry can attract the best talent around when the salary is so minimal.
Guyana has had a brain drain for decades now, and now that greater resources are available to the government, it was to be expected that greater attention would have been paid towards attracting and retaining the sort of skills that are necessary by paying attractive remuneration.
But if the salary on offer for the treaty officer is perplexing, consider the case of the Ministry of Agriculture, which last week advertised for supervision services for the construction of the East Demerara Water Conservancy Northern Relief Channel. There is nothing unusual about this. It is clear that this is seen as a priority project by the government in terms of providing improved drainage capacity of the conservancy thereby avoiding having to release water into farming areas whenever the levels in the conservancy are threatening.
It is also expected that the building of the conservancy is going to be contracted out to a specialist contracting firm. Ensuring the work is done to specifications, requires hiring a supervision firm. This is no doubt what is being done.
But what is confusing is that under the same project, the National Drainage and Irrigation Board is inviting bids for the operation, servicing and monitoring of excavators, bulldozers for the same project. Also bids are being invited for geo- textile materials and timber mats for the same EDWC project.
Why if this project is going to be contracted out and supervision services are being sought is the NDIA seeking to procure materials? Should this not be the responsibility of the firm that is supposed to be building the outlet? Why is the NDIA bidding for materials to be used in the project? Hopefully they will explain this.
In another advertisement, the Parliament Office is building a car port at the eastern end of Parliament Buildings. This is a long overdue project since there is serious problem of parking for members of the National Assembly given that the vast majority of them own their own vehicles and there is inadequate parking available within the compound.
At the eastern extremity of Parliament Buildings there is the monument to one of the working class heroes of Guyana, Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow and therefore it may be inappropriate for a car port to be erected in proximity to that monument. In fact any car port within the compound will detract from the image of the parliament.
What ought to have been considered is a location just across the road which is being allowed to go into neglect. The building that used to house the Statistical Bureau is now abandoned and it is only a matter of time before it will reach a state whereby it will have to be pulled down.
Instead of allowing the building to go into disrepair or having to be sold to some rich person, it should be put to use for the construction of a car part.
It is ideally located for this purpose. It would avoid having to deface the present grounds within Parliament Building. By pulling down the old building, there would be a large enough space for a car port which when there are no sittings of the assembly can be rented out as a car park for members of the judiciary and for others who may wish to utilise the facility.

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