Public sector policies being advanced – Min Singh

The government through the Ministry of Public Service is working rigorously to update four public sector policies to enhance the efficiency and experience of government employees.

In 2023, some amount of work was done to advance the policies. However, 2024 will see a greater effort being placed to ensure that the ministry achieves its objectives.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh explained that the implementation of these strategies will put public servants in better working conditions.

“Work continued in 2023 and will continue in 2024 on at least four major documents which I believe could fairly be classified under the rubric of policy. The four are the public service rules which are the extant rules now dating back to 1987…So we are working to update those rules. Work will continue on an employee handbook which we anticipate will provide a useful guide to new entrance into the public sector,” Minister Singh stated during the recently concluded 2024 budget debates.

The other two measures that will be advanced include training and scholarship policies.

These policies will see beneficiaries being able to access many more resources that are necessary for their courses.

The government’s ongoing commitment to improving the lives of public servants is evident in the continuous progression of policies.

As such, since taking office over the last three years, the administration has consecutively increased the salary for public servants.

It was also reported that some 4,188 public servants have been trained from then to now.

Some of those training focused on procurement procedures, effective communication in the workplace, office assistance, and project management, among others.

More than 21,000 persons including persons working in the public sector received scholarships under the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL).  Of that number, some 425 Guyanese have already completed their master’s degree.