Learning from the flag-raising fiasco

What this newspaper has already said was a considerable measure of incompetence and ineptitude that attended aspects of the protocol and logistics that were in evidence at the Jubilee Flag-Raising Ceremony ought to be responded to by the Government of Guyana in a far more fulsome manner than was afforded by the quixotic content of the statement issued by Junior Minister Nicolette Henry, and which, justifiably, has come in for a fair measure of further public flak.

As the editorial in last Sunday’s Stabroek News correctly points out the “apology” to the members of the Opposition for whom no proper seating arrangements were made, was needlessly circumlocutory , as though it were seeking to skirt the real issue. As the Sunday editorial pointed out the references made in Minister Henry’s ‘apology’ about Opposition members turning up late and using the wrong entrance were palpably irrelevant to the issue at hand. And it would have been fitting while she was at it for the Minister’s apology to extend to those ordinary Guyanese who, as well, were discommoded by the organisational ineptitude that attended the event.

One cannot emphasise too strongly that there is simply no good excuse for what happened at the Jubilee event and that it is the Minister who must accept the responsibility. It was she who was assigned the responsibility of getting it right…and that she did not do. Further, by neglecting to extend her apology beyond the disgruntled opposition entourage Minister Henry attracted further criticism from sections of the public that – mistakenly or otherwise – appeared to take the omission for an absence of mindfulness for the feelings of those ordinary Guyanese who attended the flag-raising ceremony because being there mattered to them.

Affording high officials and dignitaries   accommodation at the Jubilee Flag-raising event ought surely to have been well within the competence of the government. Even if, for whatever reason, Minister Henry had been put in charge of the most symbolically important event on the Jubilee Anniversary programme, we must assume that the assignment was attended by access to certain specialised supporting state resources, including, presumably, those available at the Protocol Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dare one ask the question as to whether the shambles of last Wednesday evening occurred notwithstanding such advice and guidance?

Whether the whole sorry affair is worth some kind of swift probe is probably debatable though it might be interesting – for a change – to have full public disclosure on why what went wrong went wrong.

Even if this newspaper might not be ideally positioned to make such a claim one is inclined too to wonder aloud as to whether what played out in the course of the planning process for Wednesday evening’s event was not a manifestation of the familiar minister-knows-best malady with which we have long been afflicted and which, all too frequently sees sound professional advice being trumped by the weight of political authority. In this context we reminded too that unlike in some other societies, Guyana is not blessed with a societal culture in which ministers of government are commonly held up to official criticism for errors or wrongdoings. The more prevalent pattern has been either to allow ministerial shortcomings or transgressions to pass, quickly and painlessly, or else, where it is convenient, to resort to the well-worn practice of locating some lesser official, a public servant, invariably, as the scapegoat.

At least one lesson that we might wish to take from this episode, is that public officials, including ministers of government, far from necessarily being paragons of competence are frequently fallible and – in several cases in the present administration – decidedly inexperienced in some areas.  More to the point they are accountable.   That being the case and while we do not expect that errors will result in high officials always being hung out to dry, fault must be attended by contrition and, where necessary, some measure of censure. Rather than always being held up as paragons of excellence, Ministers who are weighed and found wanting must be prepared to put up their hands, ‘suck up’ whatever public ‘heat’ is coming their way and move on. Otherwise, questions justifiably arise about their suitability to hold ministerial portfolios. That is how it works in countries that pride themselves on a democratic environment. How well we can put last Wednesday’s incident behind us will be determined by whether or not the political administration pays sufficient attention to the lessons to be learnt from it.