WE MUST BE PRAGMATIC ABOUT PRACTICAL PROBLEMS

Jul 18, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor;
I wish to thank Mr D. Ramsunai for his comments on my earlier letter regarding compensation to Chairmen and Directors for their services on State Boards.
It is indeed interesting to note that Mr. Ramsunai prefaced his “Double-Whammy” comments with the proviso: “all things being equal” which is always an elusive, if not confounding factor. Complicating this escapism further is his implied reliance on the very well-meaning but rather time-worn imploration of John F Kennedy, the late iconic President of the USA since the early 1960’s. So, we end up with a kind of ‘treble whammy’ with Mr Ramsunai’s ‘things’, ‘time’ and ‘place’ being not equal and out of sync with the actual, practical realities of today’s Guyana which demand a pragmatic approach to our systems of Governance and Management in a polarized, under-developed and struggling nation.
While it is true that the ideal persons for appointments to State Boards must be persons with “considerable competence, expertise and experience in a particular area of trade, profession or vocation” to use Mr Ramsunai’s words, the Guyana reality also demands certain other criteria which are reflective of the society at large and which might not necessarily conform to the ideal formulation. For such reasons some obviously qualified persons do, as a matter of fact, refuse offers of appointments, not because of money, but because of the fear of having to compromise their ‘professionalism’. Similarly, not all appointees to State Boards have full-time salaried positions from which they can take time off without loss of pay for time spent attending Board meetings. Some are ‘retired’ or self-employed professionals.
The work on State Boards does not constitute only “attending meetings”; there is much pre- and post- meeting work to be done if the work of the Board is to be effective. And, in the practical situation where not too many volunteers or rich, ‘Kennedian’ altruists abound, a fair day’s pay for a good day’s work must at least be offered; in some cases the work involves ‘double-time’. Then there are indeed cases where some people are not bothered about compensation for such duties for the good of the state; such persons must be honoured; but it would be foolhardy for the State to think that while it is OK to pay Parliamentarians currently competitive salaries (even if they have other paid jobs and other forms of earnings), the professionals who serve seriously on State Boards must be content with insultingly beggarly, paltry stipends fixed many moons ago.
In the final analysis, for such critical work performed by professional, hard-working Board Members, provisions should be made for substantial compensation in order to attract and retain the right competencies and avoid ‘temptations’ to ‘make-up’ for not doing so.
Nowrang Persaud

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