The President does not believe in bureaucracy

Aug 24, 2023 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – Yesterday, the President made an interesting revelation. Addressing a conference of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), the President said that he does not believe in [governmental] bureaucracy but rather a flat structure.

This column has long been arguing that Guyana has a bloated bureaucracy which has become an albatross around the necks of the State. The bureaucracy needs to be trimmed because the cost of running the bureaucracy has become prohibitive and unsustainable, even with the gush of oil revenues.

The President’s words yesterday were therefore like music to my ears. A flat governmental bureaucracy allows political decision makers to interact directly with the people, rather than having polices made by bureaucrats many of whom are aloof and disconnected from the people and many of whom promote vested interests.

It is understandable that for a nation weaned on over heavy bureaucracies, there may be skepticism to the President’s suggestion, especially regarding the efficacy of such an approach. But it is imperative to recognize that a flat structure offers a multitude of benefits that can revolutionize governance in the areas of transparency, responsiveness and efficiency.

A flat governmental bureaucracy facilitates greater transparency.  By bypassing the bureaucratic intermediaries, the leader can directly communicate policies, decisions, and intentions to the citizens. This direct line with the people helps to avoid misinformation and disinformation which often result when policies have to be channeled through bureaucracies.

Direct interaction between the people and the President and his Ministers also brings the people directly into the decision-making process. It also allows them to better understand the policies and plans of the government.

The bureaucracy is the greatest villain when it comes to the lack of responsiveness to public concerns. A report has to first  received and recorded by a clerk, who then has to pass this to his or her deputy supervisor who will then pass it to the supervisor who will then refer to the Assistant Manager for onward transmission to the Deputy Manager thence for the Manager to authorize and investigation. And when the investigation is complete the process has to start all over again.

However, a flat governmental bureaucracy streamlines decision-making processes by eliminating the bureaucratic bottlenecks that result in delays. Without the layers of bureaucracy, approvals, responses and decisions can be made with more promptly this agility is particularly beneficial during emergency and urgent situations.

In a flat bureaucracy, decisions are made swiftly, enabling the government to respond promptly to the people. A direct line of communication between the decision maker and citizens eliminates the time-consuming processes of information dissemination through a hierarchical chain of command.

As the President said, dealing directly with the people is a form of empowerment. A flat governmental bureaucracy empowers citizens by involving them in the governance process. It allows them to be heard and seen by the President and vice versa.

Now that the President has seen it fit to admit his revulsion towards bureaucracy, perhaps he can let the nation know what he intends to do about it. For the past three years, the only news coming out of the Public Service Ministry has been “scholarships, scholarships, scholarships.”

But what about public service reform? What about streamlining the public service to make it flatter and more efficient? What about removing the bloat from the public service? What about removing special appointments which seem plentiful under the PPPC administration and in which almost every stalwart of the PPPC has to be provided with a job in the government?

The President can perhaps show his commitment to a flat bureaucracy by having a flat Cabinet. Do we really need a second Minister in the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Natural Resources? Would these not breed friction?

The government needs to flatten the bureaucracy. But the President can do better by removing the fat from his Cabinet and trimming the bevy of advisors. Does the President really need advice on constitutional affairs? Is the Attorney General not supposed to be the principal advisor to the President on constitutional affairs?

Is there also a need for a Director of Presidential Affairs, a Foreign Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a non-career diplomat as the Head of a department dealing with the Diaspora? Does the public know that the Ministry of Agriculture has a Director-General?

The bureaucracy needs to be streamlined. The present structure is not in sync with the philosophy of the President to have a flat bureaucracy. The ball is in the President’s court to show that he’s serious about a flatter bureaucracy.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

• Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), multitude, Peeping Tom, President, unsustainable