The Government of Guyana is implementing mandatory training and a digital transformation for public service employees aimed at improving service delivery and increasing efficiency, Minister of Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation, Zulfikar Ally, has announced.
Speaking on the NCN programme Beyond the Title, Minister Ally said the changes are designed to meet the expectations of citizens, including better access to services during lunch hours and the ability to track applications for licenses and other government services online.
“Those are all very realistic expectations from people; …we have to change and we have the capacity to change it,” the minister said, noting that President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has committed to bringing government services up to first-world standards.
Minister Ally stressed that the transformation will not result in job losses. “The change that we are bringing is one where we will make the system more transparent, we will make everyone more efficient in what they do, and we are going to upskill everyone to ensure that they are in touch with the modern world. AI, for example, all of the new technologies that are there to make our work a lot easier, are implemented,” he said.
The initiative will introduce a fully integrated public service system, allowing employees to access their records through an online portal. Training participation will be tracked to ensure that all staff are included, and promotions will be based on merit and objective criteria such as work performance, training, and punctuality, rather than managerial discretion.
Minister Ally also highlighted the role of the ministry’s implementation arm in supervising major projects to ensure efficiency and accountability. “We can’t start projects and just allow them to go with the normal speed of things; you have to ensure that people are doing their work, engineers are doing their work, supervisory consultants are doing their work and working in the interest of the government of Guyana,” he said.
The government’s broader goal, according to Minister Ally, is to move Guyana into a digital age where citizens can access services conveniently from home, whether through smartphones, tablets, or computers, without facing burdensome procedures.
