SIZE MATTERS

Jun 30, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

The value of parliament to the opposition parties is not simply in the opportunities it allows for these members to argue their case or to make criticisms of government policy.
There is also an invaluable opening for the opposition to contribute to good governance and to be part of an inclusive process of administration, not necessarily by being part of the government, but by exercising oversight of government’s actions.
The opposition in Guyana has underrated the influence it can exercise in the governance of the country within the National Assembly. And this is because it is so obsessed with wanting political power that it does not realize the amount of power it has to make a difference in the country, a difference that will be recognized by the people of Guyana.
If when the PPP was in opposition it had those opportunities, it would have won by a larger majority in 1992.
The opposition chairs the Public Accounts Committee, one of the most powerful committees in the National Assembly. This committee has the power to summon public officers to appear before it and to provide explanations about matters concerning the finances of the country. It is a power which should be used more frequently to provide answers and ensure accountability.
A great deal of answers can be provided and a big difference made, if only better use is made by the opposition of the Public Accounts Committee. But making such use entails the opposition being better prepared.
In recent times, the Public Accounts Committee has been exposing a great deal of shortcomings within the government departments. Some of the areas recently highlighted were poor systems and financial controls in some government agencies.
Corruption, as is well known, is a major problem within our society and within the government. And larger the size of the government the greater will be the corruption.
The best systems that can be put in place are going to be compromised from time to time. There are many dishonest persons working within the system and once they see loopholes they will take advantage of them. Policing these systems is not easy and the opposition itself knows this from its time in government when corruption was more rampant.
As such, the solution is for there to be an overall smaller government. The smaller the size of the government, the more manageable the system.
Yet it seems that instead of reducing the size of the government and outsourcing many services to the private sector, the government is expanding the size of bureaucracy even as critical areas such as security are understaffed.
What Guyana needs is a full-time public accounts committee and a larger Office of the Auditor General which takes a proactive role in examining and investigating public financial transactions. What is also needed is a powerful Procurement Ombudsman capable of exercising strong oversight over public procurement. What is needed is a strong regulatory body to ensure that public works are done to the required specifications.
This may seem to be a recipe for a larger rather than a smaller government service. But these proposals should constitute a core set of government functions which would allow for increased oversight and monitoring with many other government divisions being consolidated and reduced since they are merely guzzlers of government revenues.
A small country like Guyana does not need so many Government Ministries and departments. But cutting government services and size is never easy. Within months of these cuts, political pressures are brought to bear to increase employment and create new ministries.
There are certain functions which should be farmed out to the private sector. Certain Ministries should be closed and operated as departments within other Ministries. This would reduce not only administrative costs but also make the government less wieldy and therefore less prone to corruption.
Fighting corruption is a tedious and painstaking task. The larger the government, the harder it is to do this. The smaller the size of government, however, the easier it is to get a handle on corruption and to take action to reduce its incidence.
In the meantime, the government should see the necessity of having strong regulatory and oversight bodies while strengthening or revamping existing ones such as the Integrity Commission and the Police Complaints Authority.
And the Public Accounts Committee should continue to interrogate public officers and expose the many wrongs that are taking place within the system.

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