This country is not good at systems.  Thinking is not just short term but also fragmented, and when the inevitable consequences of a disorganized or incoherent approach make themselves apparent, procrastination seems to be the preferred response. In some cases effective systems have been in operation for a long time, but they have been allowed to lapse, or radical changes have been introduced without serious thought about how these will affect functions and efficacy. Certainly, planning in its longer-term aspect is not a notable feature of government in this society, and when it occurs it is usually in the wake of some disaster like the Great Flood of 2005.

This administration has always been happier concerning itself with highly visible infrastructural projects, such as roads, schools or wells, and less comfortable with systems and coherent policies, especially if these involve complexity. Leaving Georgetown aside for the moment, there has been no attempt, for example, to deal with garbage issues in the country as a whole; central government has fallen back on the excuse that these come within the purview of the local authorities, more especially the NDCs. But the refuse problem is not insoluble, and in many areas would lend itself to a more comprehensive approach that would be far more rational than leaving it to individual local bodies to cope with as best they can.  There was such a proposal for the East Coast many moons ago when Mr Harripersaud Nokta was the Minister of Local Government, but after a lot of hot air, nothing eventuated from the ‘plan.’

The problem with drainage is very well known and hardly bears repeating. All that can be said is that given a littoral which faces major hydraulic challenges, one might have thought that any government would have devoted far more administrative energy and expertise into ensuring that even at the local level of street drainage, gutters and trenches were kept clear and kokers maintained. As it is, however, large swathes of coastland have been forced to confront flooding as a fact of life every time the rainy season rolls around.

It is true that under this government housing schemes have sprung up like proverbial mushrooms, and while the administration has to be commended for the opportunity it afforded so many to own their own homes, it was in one sense done in a haphazard way.  The infrastructural issues in many instances were not fully worked out beforehand, and in particular, no calculation was made for the fact that some of these schemes were sited on lands which once functioned as basins during periods of heavy flooding. As everyone discovered to their cost for the first time in 2005, the water from the backlands flowed down the roads which served as convenient channels, and from there into yards.

Of course in some instances politics intrudes into the equation and sometimes takes precedence over sensible policy-making and rational systems implementation – Georgetown being the classic example.  The tragedy of the capital city is that it has fallen victim to the government’s obsession with total control and its somewhat forlorn strategy to win votes in future elections – which is not to suggest either that Georgetown would have been a well-run city had the government not been playing games. It is hard to imagine, however, that the ruling party seriously believes that starving the capital of funds, stymieing the development plan that it – and not the city council – had commissioned, postponing the dismissal of allegedly corrupt senior municipal officials, generating garbage crises every so often, and imposing a seriously challenged Town Clerk on the municipality (among other things), will win it any kudos with voters.

Be that as it may, there are enough ill thought-out projects over the last decade or so, to make any vigilant taxpayer anxious.  The classic example is the Skeldon Sugar Factory, which must stand as the biggest, most pristine white elephant ever built in this country.  But there are others too, one of them being the Marriott Hotel, whose investor is a state secret, and whose rationale in a country where the hotels have such a low occupancy rate is an enigma. This is not to forget the airport expansion project either, which appears to have been an off-the-cuff decision. This is not to say that the runway does not need expanding, or the terminal facilities upgrading, but this has to be done following a proper feasibility study along with all the other requirements which precede such decisions. Haste invariably translates into waste in such matters.

But even in less prominent areas the inability to think long term and sometimes even apply common sense to a situation reveals itself. There was the story of a ‘systems’ failure last week, for example, which centred on the high failure rate at the nursing exams.  It transpires that there are too few tutors to teach student nurses at the three nursing schools, yet despite the fact that the Guyana Nurses Association had years ago spoken out against the large intake of students, that intake had been increasing every year.

Then there was the new curriculum which it was recommended by a PAHO consultant and a committee should be implemented with a small number of students at one nursing school only, but which was introduced in all three schools, thereby impeding its effectiveness. The nurses association expressed itself greatly concerned that the Ministry of Health continued to enrol students without meeting the stipulated criteria for the implementation of the curriculum.  According to APNU, the end result of this and other problems which were identified, was that only 19 of the 120 student nurses who wrote the State Final Examination were successful. It is another case of not exploring all the relevant factors before deciding on a course of action, and then allowing a problem situation to drift until it acquires major dimensions.

While the government likes to throw around words like ‘tourism,’ for example, they often remain abstractions and are not usually translated into sequenced policy approaches which will be followed by action. Having said that there are one or two areas where sometimes there is consultation in relation to a specific new policy; the most recent one involved the Ministry of Education and its proposed standards for teachers.  However, there are many other areas where that does not happen.

In the end, what everyone wants is a well-run society, where there is no grinding poverty and where everyone has space to express themselves and find a meaningful path in life. A society like this one may be small, but it is also complex, and no one group – and certainly no one political party – has a monopoly on the competence, knowledge or judgement necessary to run it. Carefully thought-out policies and efficient, well-monitored systems – not to mention competent personnel – are necessary for any society to function as it should.