Is our government being run as a cake shop?

Nov 27, 2023 Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom…

Kaieteur News – Two incidents have raised concern about the quality of governance being practised by the ruling People’s Progressive Party /Civic (PPP/C). These incidents give meaning to what in common parlance has been described as ‘cake shop’ management.

In the first incident, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, at one of his press conferences, related that he received a phone call at 12:45 am. The call was from the President of Guyana and he, Jagdeo, was asked whether he knew anything about the early release of the convicted female prisoner.

Now why would the President of Guyana have to be calling the Vice President in the early hours of the morning – at a time when most citizens were fast asleep – to enquire about a matter over which the Vice President has no jurisdiction? The Vice President has already said that he holds oversight over the oil and gas, finance and environment sectors. Not the Prisons. Why then would the President be calling the Vice President to ask him about a matter that falls under the portfolio of the Minister of Home Affairs?

Why would the President be interested in knowing whether the Vice President knew of this matter? It matters not whether he knew.

Later, we were told that there would be an investigation into this matter. But nothing further has been heard even though serious concerns were raised by the system of justice administration due to the early release of the convicted prisoner.

The second incident was at a press conference hosted by the Minister of Natural Resources, the first such press conference he has hosted. He made a most stunning revelation at that press conference. He said that it is the President and the Vice President who makes policy and that his Ministry only implements this policy.

This disclosure reveals two interesting but worrying facets about the system of governance in Guyana. The first is that it suggests that policy-making authority is concentrated in the hands of just two individuals, or at least in respect to the natural resources sector. Two persons surely should not wield such a dominate role in policy-making in the natural resources sector. It begs the question as to whether the President of the Vice President equally is responsible for making policy in other sectors.

The second worrying aspect of this disclosure is the role that is ascribed to the Ministry. It is that the Ministry which is supposed to be making policy or at least to be taking policy to Cabinet and then implementing this policy. But what the Minister is suggesting is that there is a clear distinction between policymaking and policy implementation in relation to the Ministry. The policy we are told is made by the President and the Vice President – not even Cabinet – and that the Ministry is reduced to merely implementing this policy.

If this is not cake shop management, then what is? Where is Guyana going to headed if this is what is taking place at the highest levels of governance?

No wonder at his usual Thursday press conferences, the General Secretary of the PPP/C, pontificates over almost every segment of the economy. He operates as if he has a handle on almost all the portfolios. Given what has been said about how policy is made, it would not be surprising to discover that political authority is concentrated in the hands of two individuals, one more than the other and the one in which more authority is concentrated may not be the one who it is expected should command the greatest authority.

The President has to get a grip on his government. He cannot have a situation in which one man assumes the right to speak on every portfolio in the government. This person would never admit to being a superman. So why should be vested with the responsibility to speak on any and every subject as if he were a superman.

There is a reason why authority is delegated within governments. Delegating responsibilities to various Ministers is a fundamental aspect of governance. It promotes specialization and greater efficiency within government.

Each Minister is typically appointed based on their expertise and experience in a specific portfolio. This allows those persons to focus on their designated portfolio. This division of responsibilities enables the government to address the diverse range of issues which modern governments must contend. The very purpose of the division of responsibilities is to move away from a one-person or two-people government because it is impossible for anyone or two people to command the expertise needed for the entirety of government’s operations.

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governance being practised, Guyana, interested in knowing, the General Secretary of the PPP, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

One thought on “Is our government being run as a cake shop?”

Gerald Monize November 27, 2023 at 11:55 am

Peeping Tom has put out an excellent article today. It is time that someone speaks out against the domination of the Vice President over virtually everything Government does.
The point made regarding the allocation of portfolios based on expertise is well taken and it is what is practiced across the world. Not in Guyana. Where is the relevant expertise in those charged with ministerial responsibilities within the Ministries of Public Works & Infrastructure, Natural Resources, Energy, Housing, Water, The Environment, Home Affairs, to name only a few? What can a Headmaster (a mediocre one at best) do as Minister of Natural Resources? Therein lies the reason for failure being endemic in almost every aspect of governance in Guyana.
Keep up the good work, PT.

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