Implementation and planning are the problems

Jul 20, 2018 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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The world this week observed the 100th birth anniversary of Nelson Mandela. As part of the centenary reflections, it was accepted that the objective conditions which Mandela faced required him to depart from the peaceful resistance model of the American civil rights movement and India’s independence struggles.
Nelson Mandela was no angel. Neither are most politicians!
In Guyana, we can all agree that the PPPC is no flock of angels. But does this disqualify them from being critical of the present administration? Is the PPPC not the legitimate Opposition? And despite the opinion that they lack the moral authority to criticize the present government, consider what would have been the state of political accountability and public transparency if same PPPC was not exposing the excesses of the APNU+AFC.
The PPPC is not under any obligation to make the government look good. Its role is to do the opposite. It role is to be the government-in-waiting. Its role is to convince the electorate that it is a better alternative than the government. It therefore has a legitimate right and obligation to expose poor governance.
The APNU+AFC is finding great difficulty in countering the criticisms of the PPPC. And so the APNU+AFC has concocted a new excuse for its underperformance in government. Instead of accepting its flaws and determining how these can be corrected, the mouthpieces of the APNU+AFC are now finding new excuses for their poor performance in government.
The latest one to hit the fan is that the PPPC practised a policy of discrimination in the award of Government contracts and the same party members who won contracts are still doing so today. In other words, the excuse is that the APNU+AFC is being sabotaged by a corrupt system which has been entrenched by the PPPC.
It is as weak an argument as there can be. The argument ignores the fact that last year and earlier this year, there were concerns about the poor implementation ratio of the Public Sector Investment Programme – the government’s capital programme. The government took steps to address these defects and from all accounts, the government is claiming success in improving its implementation deficit. So then, how can it be claimed that the PSIP is being hijacked by persons within the system.
In fact, this argument also overlooks the sweeping changes which have been made of personnel in government. The Central Tender Board has been revamped and is now dominated by persons appointed by the APNU+AFC.
So if contracts are still being awarded to PPPC favourites, it is not being done by agents of the PPPC. In addition, a Public Procurement Commission has been put in place and this allows all those who feel that the pro-PPP companies are still unfairly gaining contracts to protest any unfair practices.
The excuse, therefore, that the PPPC entrenched institutional corruption and that this system is responsible for subverting the APNU+AFC is pure poppycock. It ignores the mass dismissals which have taken place in many government offices. It ignores who wields power at power and the obsessions with control and domination of the public space by the APNU.
The argument also ignores the dubious record of the government since 2015. The scandals are piling up on one another. In fact for such a short period of time, they outstrip that of the PPPC for a comparative period. But do not tell that to the apologists. They will ignore the Sussex Street bond issue, the fertilizer contract, the Durban Park fiasco, the ExxonMobil contract, the signing bonus controversy, the emergency drug purchases etc. The list is long and endless.
The problem with the APNU+AFC is a two-fold. The first is a problem of project conception. The APNU+AFC is implementing inherited pipeline projects. The Cheddi Jagan airport project was inherited; the extension of the East Bank Public Road is an inherited project; work on the preparation for a new bridge across the Demerara River was long advanced under the PPPC; the road link to Lethem which is now going to be commenced with local resources has long been touted by the PPPC. The list is long here. What major new project has the APNU+AFC created in its three years in power?
The APNU+AFC also has an implementation problem. It was the same story in pre-1992 when the implementation ratio was under 70% for a miniscule PSIP. Now with a bigger PSIP and greater capacity, the government is struggling to spend what it says it plans to spend.
Do not blame the contractors. Just look at the so-called emergency tender which is now the subject of controversy. The first tender went out in April and it was not until August that the controversial contract was approved by Cabinet. How then after almost four months, could the procurement be deemed to be emergency?
The APNU+AFC has a serious problem. Do not blame the professionals who worked for the previous government. Do not blame the contractors. Lay the blame where it ought to be placed. Lay the blame at a government which is struggling with implementation and planning.

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