Latest update May 20th, 2026 12:35 AM
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APNU plans to reopen public service college
Vice Presidential Candidate of APNU, Ganesh Mahipaul
Kaieteur News – Vice Presidential candidate of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Ganesh Mahipaul, has announced that if the party is elected, it will reopen the Bertram Collins College of the Public Service.
The college, which was closed in 2021 by the Irfaan Ali administration is expected to be revived to provide training for individuals before they are placed in public sector institutions, with the aim of improving customer service and professionalism.
Speaking during a live broadcast of the “Reset” talk show with host JR Giddings, Mahipaul criticised the current state of the public service, particularly in healthcare, where he believes poor service delivery stems from lack of training and low staff morale. He stated, “We want to reopen the college of the public service that really would teach people how is it to deliver service to a population as opposed to taking someone from off the streets and pelting them in an institution without giving them any sort of training or knowledge. So, it is all about training our people to be more receptive and putting a smile in simple term on patients’ faces can really save half of the problem.”
He stressed that training public servants to deliver service with empathy and professionalism can significantly improve citizen experience. “Sometimes when you are sick and you go the hospital, once the staff is able to put a smile on your face, I think 50% of the problem is addressed. But we have a very demoralised staff complement, because of political interference,” he said.
Mahipaul also linked poor healthcare service to the underpayment of staff. He noted that despite investments in hospitals and equipment, the quality of care suffers without well-compensated and motivated professionals. “We have a very low paying profession, in terms of our doctors and nurses and other staff and we have to first find ways of addressing our people that are working within the health care facilities. We can build all the hospitals we want, we can have all the modern equipment and everything that we need. But if we don’t have the people to do the work properly and to put a smile on the patient’s face and to administer health care in a professional safe and conducive environment, half of that problem will not be addressed,” he said. He added that auxiliary staff, nurses, and doctors must all benefit from better wages.
Bertram Collins’ Public Service College (2019)
To support this, Mahipaul reiterated several of APNU’s public service reform proposals: increasing the income tax threshold to $400,000, raising the minimum wage to $200,000, and implementing a graduate salary increase of up to 35% in the first year of office. “These are measures that will put more money in people’s pockets…, being able to spend more, being able to lift your own life and be comfortable in your job,” he explained.
The Bertram Collins College of the Public Service, headquartered at Ogle, was shuttered by the current administration. At the time, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo claimed the college was being used as political machinery by the former APNU+AFC government, funded by taxpayers. The Ministry of the Public Service, led by Minister Sonia Parag, denied any political motive, claiming the college facilitated unfair recruitment practices by fast-tracking 60 trainees annually to Clerk III positions over more experienced Clerk II employees.
In a 2019 interview with Kaieteur News, the college’s then Senior Director Lawrence Paul acknowledged a diversity issue at the institution. He revealed that 85% of the student population was Afro-Guyanese, despite the college being envisioned by former President David Granger as a vehicle for the strengthening of a public service that represented all walks of people. Paul noted efforts were underway to expand outreach, especially to Indigenous youth in hinterland communities.
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