Dear Editor,
I heard that there was television coverage of Minister Volda Lawrence visiting a post office and expressing consternation at the way pensioners were treated. I think that this is a most welcome step for a minister to take, and one that should be initiated by others.
For too long, the old political class barrelled around the country in their tinted, high-rise vehicles at high speeds, and without a whiff of concern for the plight of citizens, including supporters. This, in turn, was conducive to succeeding waves of bureaucratic barbarisms that battered and laid waste the taxpayers, and none more so than the neediest ones. Nobody cared; not the ministers, not officialdom.
This is among the reasons why so many are impatient and clamouring at every opportunity for visible, tangible change. Things are so bad and unacceptable that citizens will take anything, no matter how minute, once it is on the upside.
It is why I recommend (beg yet again) that ministers, permanent secretaries, CEOs, commissioners, department heads and other captains know more of what is happening on their watch, and at a granular level in their domains. Part of this expanded familiarity (and concern) includes mingling in the trenches with the public, as it seeks services and help. Listen to them, understand the process, and know what is going on. Identify who moves things along, where the bottlenecks are, and do all of this by putting in the face time. Like Minister Lawrence. Do so unannounced, randomly, and consistently. The focus must be less on the rewards of office, and more on the related obligations.Everyone, including the responsible minister, stays on their toes, and a message is transmitted: The people count. This is serious. This is for real. Get with the programme, or get going. Or in very comprehensible creolese: “Dis time nah lang time…”
Along these lines, I respectfully suggest that the first Minister of Public Security ought to make it a practice ‒ part of his daily routine ‒ to drop in at a police station on his way to and from work, and to do the same during his intraday travels. He should take a few minutes, observe the proceedings, and converse with those waiting. It manifests interest, indicates dedication to duty, and instils a healthy regard for the new realities on the part of the precinct house hosts, the public, and the minister, too.
In parting, I should mention that I am thinking of visiting parliament, accompanied by pen and paper, to listen and to record for public dissemination those who are rising to the heavy responsibilities at hand. As well as those, who are neither ready nor prepared nor serious nor justifying their parliamentary presence.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
