Govt. corporations are not military enterprises
Guyana has a few large corporate giants. These companies are headed by Boards of Directors, yet none of these powerful companies provide for an office for the Chair of these entities.
Guyana has a powerful financial system with a number of banks. None of these banks provide an office for their Chairperson. There is no need for them to do so.
The Boards of Directors have secretaries â usually the Corporate Secretary of the entity. This person handles all the correspondence addressed to the Chairperson. There is no need for a Chairperson to employ someone as an assistant and on top of that to have that person operate outside of the headquarters of the entity.
Why then should this be happening with a government Board? The government should investigate why it has been deemed necessary for someone to be employed in an office located outside of a government corporation, to handle matters relating to the Board. There needs to be an investigation into this matter.
There also needs to be a position paper produced by the government on the relationship between the Chairperson of government Boards and the other members of the Board. The government should also rationalize the benefits and services that are to be provided to members of Boards.
Most government Boards are service enterprises that do not make profits per se, and therefore those who are called to serve should see their service as one given to the nation, and should be prepared to accept only nominal fees, along with the provision of transportation to and from meetings. But there should be no lavish fees.
There are some government corporations, of course, which require Board members to devote considerable time and effort. That time and effort should be compensated for at market rates, because you cannot ask someone to sacrifice their own career commitments without compensating them properly. But this surely does not apply to all government Boards, only to some.
The government will find it difficult to compensate every member of every Board at market rates. It will be too costly. A token sum in most cases will suffice, but there will be cases where some persons would have to be paid Board fees commensurate with the responsibilities they are required to assume.
Board fees are admittedly extremely low. But this does not give any Board the right to arrogate to itself services, such as having its own offices and personnel. Boards should always utilize the secretarial services of the entity to which they belong. They should not employ their own personnel. This is unheard of in the private Boardrooms of Guyana, and for companies which can afford to have such services but which do not, out of prudency.
The Boards are supposed to set policy on behalf of the owners. In the case of State Boards, they merely execute the policy of the government. They may contribute their views and opinions, but the policy they make must be consistent with that of the government. They are not there essentially to do their own thing and decide what happens in relation to policy.
The development of policy is usually guided by information provided by the management. If, therefore, there is a situation of mistrust between the Board and the management, an untenable situation arises, because not only will the development of sound policies be affected, but also the ability of the management to deliver on their mandate.
If a situation of mistrust exists between management and the Board and between staff and the Board, then it requires the intercession of the government to replace the Board, and to ensure that a Board is in place to win the confidence of the management.
Government Boards are not military establishments that run on command-style management. That sort of style of management is necessary for the battlefield, but has no place in corporations, government or private.