No corruption will be tolerated – Ministers caution Housing staffers
Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, has urged senior officers of the Department of Housing to execute their professional duties with integrity and impartiality.
Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan (backing camera, at centre); Junior Minister of Communities, Keith Scott (to Bulkan’s immediate right), Permanent Secretary, Emil McGarrell (to Bulkan’s immediate left) at a meeting with senior officers of the Department of Housing.
The minister made the call during an introductory meeting held Monday at the Department’s boardroom.
Also in attendance at the meeting was Junior Minister of Communities, Keith Scott, who has direct responsibilities for housing.
Bulkan informed staff members that the rebranded Ministry comprises four sections – Department of Water Supply, Department of Housing, Department of Local Government and Department of Regional Development.
He explained that the rationale behind the creation of the new ministry is to focus on the quality of life of residents as opposed to the mere provision of a house lot or a house.
According to the Minister, new President, David Granger, is pushing for strong central and strong local governments. He added that Guyana is too large to be effectively or efficiently managed from the centre, and highlighted the importance of meaningfully engaging the local democratic organs – 10 regional democratic councils, six municipalities and 65 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils.
As a matter of fact, the ministry in a statement yesterday pointed out that President Granger has committed that his administration will be “for all Guyanese, regardless of their race, religion, creed or political affiliation”.
Bulkan made it clear that he will execute his duties without malice and emphasized that accountability and transparency would be the new order of the day.
Assuring officers of their freedom to be professionals, he noted that staff would be promoted based on performance, experience and expertise, and not on party loyalty.
“As public servants I want you to bear in mind that we are here as servants to the people…and we have to follow certain guidelines,” Bulkan stated.
Providing a synopsis of President Granger’s recent charge to the country’s most senior public servants, Bulkan said the public service will be the engine to bring development to Guyana. He explained that public servants have to address the growing inequity and inequality in society. Moreover, they must be responsive to the needs of the people as well as resourceful, relevant and reliable.
Bulkan stressed that public servants cannot be politicians and pointed out the need for administrative neutrality and devotion to their job and duties. He noted that they must give impartial advice. He added that the central focus of public servants must be to serve the people.
The Minister recalled that President Granger has acknowledged that public servants need to be paid better, have better working conditions, and have permanency rather than contract employment.
Emphasising his no-nonsense approach to corruption, he quoted President Granger who said that “the public service needs reform and that the public must come to regard the public service as unbribable.”
The new administration will work to uproot graft from the public servants and those guilty of this will not have a place there.
According to Minister Scott, during the Tenth Parliament the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) exposed areas where corruption flourished. He assured officers that under his leadership there will be no reason to hide the facts or be worried when answering questions posed by the PAC.
He emphasised that corruption will not be tolerated.
“Once you are engaged in corruption we have no choice but to remove you from our midst,” Scott stressed.
He assured officers that there will be no political interference in the execution of their professional jobs and duties. He believes that senior officers of the Department of Housing, who are qualified professionals, would now be able to enjoy freedom in articulating ideas and executing their duties.
According to the Minister, A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change’s Manifesto provides scope for the development of careers for the staff of the Department of Housing. He said Government envisages “self-contained communities” which will see an exciting new phase of development in Guyana.
Scott emphasized that the Administration sees itself on the side of the professional and wants to achieve set goals to better the lives of Guyanese. He expressed hope that these goals would be accomplished within the next five years.
There have been persistent rumors leading up to the last elections of citizens paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to acquire house lots. Also, scrutiny has been intense on large plots of lands given out under unclear circumstances to private developers while 10,000 house lot applications are reportedly still on file.
Many persons have been complaining about waiting for years.