Dear Editor,
Mr H. Edwards’ letter (19/3/08) regarding his callous treatment at the Lethem Immigration Office is an urgent wake-up call to those authorities who are responsible for the agencies that have to deal with the public in Lethem, especially the police and immigration departments. Because stories such as Mr Edwards’ abound.
I had a similar experience some months ago when some American tourists came from Brazil and were travelling to Georgetown the same night. They came to where the immigration officers reside (there is apparently a system where persons can go the house to get their documents stamped because of the nightly departure of the buses). After a few calls at the gate, the immigration officer came out minus his shirt. After the foreigners had stated their business, he opened the gate, collected their documents, and went back into the house. He then returned outside with a plate of food and calmly commenced eating in the verandah. The stunned foreigners then enquired from the officer about completing their documents but he stated that they came on his dinnertime and so they would have to wait until he finished eating. The tourists were heard remarking that such callous behaviour is what’s seriously hampering tourism in Guyana. They stated that they travelled many places but were never accorded such poor service. After he had finished eating, the officer then returned and completed the transactions for the tourists. They had to wait for over 20 minutes to complete a routine transaction that should have lasted five minutes at the most.
The Takutu Bridge is nearing completion and should be completely operational within a few months. With the advent of this bridge will come a lot of foreigners, including businessmen and tourists.
The first people that they are going to meet would be our immigration officers and police. Imagine the impression our public officers would give to these foreigners if they have to wait while the immigration officer ‘chats on his phone’ or is having his dinner.
Guyana is in desperate need of the financial benefits that would come with the Takutu Bridge and we need to get our public officers to realise this and drastically improve their attitude. They need to remember that first impressions usually count for a lot. If these foreigners are made to wait unnecessarily because the immigration officer deems his cell phone call more important, then it may result in the foreigners deciding that Guyana is not worth the complication and carry their investment to some other country. Indeed poor public relations by our immigration officers and police may end up giving the entire country a bad name.
There was a recent visit to Lethem by the hierarchy of the police, army, customs, immigration and revenue departments. They came to see the Takutu Bridge and the multipurpose complex that will house all of their departments. It is assumed that they came to see how they would implement their functions.
One only hopes that public relations were high on their agenda. If not, then they need to undertake urgent remedial PR training of their officers in Lethem.
One just has to cross over to Brazil to see the chasm between the functions of our public officers and those of our neighbours. The officers there exhibit natural courtesy and efficiency. Even the most mundane of enquiries are treated with courtesy. That doesn’t mean that they don’t do their work well. It just shows that they do it professionally.
For too long we have accepted mediocrity as a norm. It is now time that these public officers be held accountable for their actions. Our country stands to lose too much by the inefficiency of a few.
One only hopes that the attitude of our public officers changes very soon. Or else there will be a lot of foreigners leaving our shore with a very poor impression of our country.
Yours faithfully,
J Fredericks
