Citizens can expect further improvement in the delivery of local services following the completion of a review which examined ways of making public services more user- friendly.
This is according to Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, who was part of a high-level panelist engaging several stakeholders at State House, Georgetown, Thursday evening.
“The review has been completed; we have documented all of the processes. Some of these are too elaborate, they are not fit for purpose, they need to be simplified, removed and then automated.”
The move is part of government’s efforts of decentralising public services, to meet the needs of citizens, particularly those in far-flung and remote areas.
The government wants to create an efficient and reliable system, and has made significant gains in meeting the needs of citizens at the local level in terms of service provision, through the investment of adequate resources.
Upon assuming office in August 2020, the government made several major changes to the way it serves Guyanese through public service.
Several projects were undertaken in more than six administrative regions to open offices, or in some cases, to widen the already established base to better meet the needs of the people.
Already, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) opened new sub-offices in Potaro- Siparuni (Region Eight) in November 2021, and Lethem, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine) in November last year.
Persons residing in these regions will no longer have to travel long distances to the main office in Georgetown for assistance.
The modernised and expanded facilities will better enable the GNBS to provide its core services to the residents of the rapidly developing regions.
The Ministry of Housing and Water’s Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) also opened a new office in Anna Regina, Region Two, with a full complement of staff to address longstanding housing matters there.
The government was also successful in opening the first Labour Office in Springlands, Corriverton, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
The new workplace will provide access to opportunities such as training programmes, through the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), and allow employees to voice their complaints and concerns, to enable improvements in the work force.
Additionally, in keeping with its mandate to offer services to stakeholders in all regions of Guyana, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) commenced construction of a new Integrated Regional Tax Office (IRTO) at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice.
The new office will expand GRA’s reach to taxpayers there, and will be a full-service tax office, thereby allowing stakeholders within the region to access all services now available at the head office in the city. [Extracted and Modified from DPI]
