Audit Office without an HR Manager since 2014

Oct 01, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor;
Kindly allow us the space in your newspaper to publicly appeal to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to urgently fill the prolonged vacancy that exists for a Human Resources Manager within the Audit Office of Guyana.
It is unimaginable for a Human Resources Department of an organisation with over 200 staffers within its employ to be non-functional and almost non-existent. The last Human Resources Manager resigned since March 2014. To us, it is inconceivable that a replacement has not been appointed to date. For thirty (30) long months our fate for promotion or dismissal rested in the hands of one individual.
We have witnessed all the negatives that could possibly happen when too much (if not all) power is concentrated in one person. They adapt an autocratic leadership style. They tend to keep their subjects under their paw by constantly reminding them of their unlimited power. They tend to behave arrogant. They tend to feel invincible and bias comes into play and becomes undeniable. They tend to be extremely vindictive. They tend to pass judgements on their subjects based on personal emotions. We desperately need a qualified Human Resources Manager to chair the Human Resources Sub-Committee within the office. We need decisions to be reached by a consensus or an objective panel so that bias or vindication towards employees could be reduced to a low level if not eliminated completely.
A direct consequence of a non-functional Human Resources Department is that the human resources are ineffectively utilised. Employees are placed in departments/sections that do not correlate to their area of study nor their long term professional goals. For instance, if you are an ACCA student and your career aspiration is becoming a senior audit personnel or an accountant, how on earth are you being placed in the Registry/ Information Technology department where you only file or scan documents for years contribute to long term professional growth and development? Is this the way someone should be groomed for their career path? This will only result in the stagnation of one’s career because in the end you are qualified with your ACCA and you will be nothing but a square peg in a round hole that lacks professional competence due to your limited practical experience. You dare not attempt to plead your case to a senior officer because you will be spoken to in an animalistic language. It is up to us. We either stay and burn or cut and run. We choose neither. We appeal to the Public Accounts Committee to bring an end to such mismanagement by appointing a Human Resources Manager as soon as is practicable.
Here is a classic case of inefficient use of human resources within the office. Last June, thirty- one (31) employees were interviewed to ‘act’ in the next position. Those ‘actors’ would assume full responsibilities of the higher position while being compensated with a meager acting allowance of $2,000 per month. It is now September and vacancies suddenly exist for that higher position (although no one left). Instead of choosing from the pool of ‘actors’ that were supposedly being groomed, the decision makers did not even acknowledge them; they choose others. We cannot fathom the basis for such reasoning! This is what happens when unlimited power is vested in one individual. Whatever he/she says or decides to do is considered gospel and it is not subject to any criticism because he/ she intimidates everyone.
The final decision for promotion/ recruitment or dismissal rests with one individual. Over the years, we have realised that the basis for promotion is not work performance or professional studies. Eighty percent (80%) of the time, your advancement within the office is based on how much the top ranking officers favour you. If you are not favoured, you will be forgotten because there is no one there to petition your case so ‘cat eat your dinner’.
How much longer should we sit back and wait for this new Human Resources Manager? We need the Public Accounts Committee to expedite the process of filling this critical vacancy as soon as is practicable. To the new H R Manager, we anxiously await your appointment. In the meanwhile, we continue to suffer the consequences of having too much power concentrated in one person.
Frustrated employee

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