Just a few days ago, Finance Minister Winston Jordan revealed that Budget 2020 will feature increases for public servants. It appears, however, that the economist has plans to continue this trend once the APNU+AFC gets another term in office.
He made this disclosure at the recently launched Budget 2020 sensitisation and training process. The event was held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre. There, Minister Jordan said, “I can say with confidence that public servants will get an increase in wages and salaries this year and can expect a bigger increase in wages and salaries next year after we would have won the general elections.”
However, the economist said that increases in remuneration must be matched by an improvement in performance and overall delivery of public services. The Minister emphasised that “managers must manage and supervisors must supervise.”
He said that productivity must rise if a modern, competitive nation is to be achieved. Minister Jordan articulated that it is difficult comprehending why one has to install electronic time clocks to track the punctuality of workers and their comings and goings during working hours. And the tracking cannot only relate to the ordinary worker, the minister said. He said it has to be enforced from top to the bottom. Minister Jordan said that too many senior personnel are on Facebook and other social media during working hours when they should be attending to the public or otherwise engaged in activities for which they are being paid.
Furthermore, regardless of one’s impending new status, Jordan said that more money will mean nothing if a disciplined approach and outlook to the nation’s overall improvement is lacking.
Above all, Jordan urged those in attendance to remember that they are public servants. “This means that we are here to deliver quality service to all residents of Guyana. We must be driven by results, not consumed by the process,” he concluded on this subject.
