Dear Editor,
I refer to your excellent editorial of June 23, 2020. The analysis was on target. I have worked with several Jamaican agencies and the qualities you identified in JAMPRO can be located in most, if not all, of them.
The difference between Jamaica and Guyana, in addition to the political interference that you correctly identified, is the quality of the professionals. It is rare in Jamaica to attend a senior-level meeting where several PhD’s were not in the room. I recalled one meeting with an official with a team of four PhDs, and three other highly qualified economists. In the same level meetings in Guyana, counterpart colleagues are persons out of UG in the last five years. To achieve the same level of excellence in its institutions Guyana must build technical capacity by attracting and retain high-quality professionals in the various areas. And of course let the technocrats lead without interference.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address supplied)
