| By Zena HenryI remembered being on a crime scene about a week ago and overhearing a senior police officer say that,NFL Jerseys China, “you receive the type of service that you pay for.” The officer was at the time responding to a subordinate colleague who was inquiring about the length of time that other senior officers were taking to arrive at the scene before the undertakers could have removed the murdered and dumped body.Of course it was during the holiday season; in fact it was three days after Christmas and the officers might have still been in celebration mode. The senior officer however continued, making reference to the police officers’ salaries, before reflecting on the last three years that saw police promotions being stalled as a result of the missing Service Commission. Given the outcry and current country-wide demonstration by public workers over the “meagre” five percent increase,Cheap Stitched Jerseys, one could safely say that the public workforce is dissatisfied, with some admitting to holding on to their jobs because there is nothing else, some using their public offices to gain the experience needed before moving on to greener pastures and others for other reasons.But where does that leave the man on the street…the common man who is expecting to receive fair and quality service from the government-paid workers, both of whose task is to serve the citizens of the country?It has become a trend in this country where almost every service provided to a citizen could be boosted with a “small piece”. So bad is the situation that the government of the day even put in a place an ‘I paid a bribe’ website for citizens to report when they had to pass over a “small piece” for the provision of whatever service. These “small pieces” come in various forms and are usually paid for various favours, tasks etc.I decided to question several persons about their daily business transactions and their experiences with regard to public service provision. A great percentage of drivers said they had paid a bribe to ranks on the street, and this did not include traffic ranks alone. Other persons have stated also that they would have paid money at other agencies in order to speed up their service or to get through with what they were doing at the Guyana Revenue Authority, the licence office and even in the acquisition of a firearm, to name a few.So should we agree with the senior officer that the service that the government pays for is the service that citizens will receive? But the bigger question on this issue I believe is; should we accept it?Attorney General Anil Nandlall emphatically says “no.” He told this newspaper that no citizen should tolerate any public worker requiring money to carry out their public function and added that any such acts should be reported to the relevant authorities.He explained that all public workers have rules and guidelines that they work by and are thus required to carry themselves in a certain manner. The Minister, when asked, did recognize that there may be cases existing where citizens pay a bribe to get their business completed, but to this he reiterated that that situation should not be.“No worker should be demanding anything from the citizens,Cheap Jerseys From China,” he said.On the other hand, another concern was raised; some have brushed it off while others say that the matter should be seriously examined, as it especially relates to the political nature of the society; and that deals with the thin line between public and private entities.It was noted recently, a businessman sponsoring gifts for members of the police force who would have been recognized for their performance during the year. It has also been noted, other state agencies that would have received gifts and from private persons. But could this lead to a conflict of interest?Leader of the Alliance for Change Khemraj Ramjattan says, “No.” The Alliance For Change leader is not convinced that there is a conflict of interest when private entities can donate to public agencies. He in fact believes that donations can be further linked to these private persons fulfilling their company’s corporate responsibilities.Ramjattan said,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, however, that he is fully aware of the possibility where public persons can feel obligated or even render themselves to the will of a private entity and sideline their public function.A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s Joseph Harmon expressed the same sentiments before complementing private entities for their contributions to the development of the public sector. He also recognized that individual gifts could pose a problem in maintaining professionalism and thus suggested that if an issue is arising from certain gifts, then maybe donations could be made to an entity and not necessarily an individual.Nonetheless, the fact remains, according to the Guyana Public Service Union,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, public workers are being denied the salaries, increases, promotion and the recognition due. The union’s President Patrick Yarde has repeated the necessity to restructure the manner in which public servants are being treated for the “vital” services that they provide to the public.One observer has, in his view, recognized that for the majority of workers, whether public or private,Authentic Soccer Jerseys Free Shipping, remuneration is a factor, but recognition and the legitimate expectancy of upward mobility is most important and satisfying to the worker.Yarde had on several occasions pointed out instances where workers would have been bypassed for various reasons, outside of relevant procedures. He had in the past highlighted, also, areas where workers are transferred or even dismissed for reasons outside of what constitutes procedure, but limited excuses would be given.One of this newspaper’s commentators wrote on Monday that, “If the local Public Service is to build capacity,Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys, those within its service must feel confident that they will be afforded the opportunity to graduate to the top echelons of the service without having to benefit from political favouritism. A good gauge of the degree to which the Public Service facilitates upward mobility is the extent to which persons are promoted. If someone who is a good worker at the bottom of the scale does not gain a promotion at least every three years, it means that the system is not very accommodating to upward mobility.”Today marks the start of a New Year, and several imperative bodies are still not in place, re-convened or commissioned; two examples are the police force’s wait after three years for the return of their service commission, responsible for the promotion of officers, and the Local Government Commission, which is responsible for all matters of regulation and staffing for local authority bodies. |
