Committed to service to humanity, the new Minister of Human Services (previously Social Protection) Dr Vindhya Persaud wants to see the ministry reorganized so that it can be more effective and efficient in dealing with members of the public.
Listing her passions as honesty, transparency, and a desire to change lives for the better, the newly minted minister said she wants to be involved in the alleviation of poverty and to ensure that people do not feel bereft and rudderless.
“They must understand that I am here to serve and I am approachable, accessible and there is nothing that would preclude me from offering assistance and support,” she said but made it clear that her end point is not only to provide assistance and support. More importantly, she wants to empower people through ensuring that assistance given will help them to eventually stand on their own feet.
She has also promised to have an open-door policy and have open days when she meets with members of the public, as she wants to have an idea as to what the people need from the ministry, which has to be people oriented. According to the new minister, the PPP/C government has been inclusive and from where she sits there is a guarantee that every service available at her ministry will be open to all people without any barrier, any preference irrespective of politics, religion, and ethnicity.
She will not tolerate dishonesty and corruption, will ensure that there is transparency and will not be afraid from where she is to call it as she sees it.
While her background is in the medical field, the new minister said outside of her profession she has done a lot of work with humanity through the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha (GHDS) where she holds the position of president.
“I am a very people-centred person, and I have always operated under something I have grown up [with] ‘action by duty, reward not my concern’, so I would consider service to be a privilege… What I bring here is that same level of passion and drive and willingness to help anyone who requires it and to serve all of Guyana,” she told The Weekend in an interview hours after she took the oath of office.
Persaud was one of the 19 ministers sworn in by President Irfaan Ali on Wednesday last.
While she was still familiarizing herself with the ministry, Persaud already has items high on the agenda that she will be addressing, and chief among those is what happens at the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) especially when it comes the elderly.
She underscored the fact that NIS has been a sore point for Guyanese for many years.
“It disturbs me when I see especially elderly people having the royal runaround; people who have worked, made their contributions and they are not able to gain from those contributions and it is a frustrating exercise for people,” she said.
The new minister herself has been a victim of the system, as all of her contributions made while she worked in the public sector have not been reflected. Therefore, she understands the frustration. She does not believe, when this happens to those who worked in the public sector, that the onus should be on the contributor to make it right.
Dr Persaud wants the system to work better and to facilitate this, believes there should be the incorporation of a more e-based type of servicing so that people in other regions will have more access and the process will be less frustrating.
Because she chaired the Social Sector Committee in Parliament, Dr Persaud and the other members met with NIS, but she has not seen the level of improvement needed and now views her appointment as an opportunity to really ensure that it works.
“It has to happen. I don’t think it is an impossibility…,” she said adding that the online site that is now up and running is not perfect as she has tried it and encountered issues.
Another area under NIS that she hopes to address is the benefits people receive some of which are dated and have not moved in time with the current expenditure. She wants to bring that up to date to what is a reality in 2020.
“It is a huge project. It is revamping a lot of things, looking at legislation, policy, deliverables and also resources with NIS. So that is going to be a mega project, but I think it is something I want to tackle because I have seen how tough it is for people,” she said.
She believes there are simple things, like the elderly not having the climb the stairs to access services, that could be done in a better way to make life less difficult.
Another sore point she wants to tackle is delivering pensions to persons and not having them stand in long lines to access same. She said while she is aware that there is the option of having pensions paid through the bank, not everyone has that access. While keeping her idea close to her chest, Minister Persaud said she wants to have pensions delivered to people instead of them having to line up.
“Because it really bothers me when I see people who have given their best years having to go under those conditions at then sometimes the money [at the post offices] runs out. So, it is adequate planning to ensure we don’t have that situation and ensuring that the delivery is better,” she added.
She is also aware that persons would want to see the old age pension increased, but she pointed out that the administration under which she serves is new and as such unaware of the resources available. So, while she would like to do everything, it depends on what is available. But once it is available it will be a priority area. Other areas of benefits for pensioners, such as removal of VAT, will be explored so that they can have a better quality of life that will also include programmes that they can enjoy and be part of.
Children and women
Important as well are the country’s children, especially those who are vulnerable. They fall under the Ministry of Human Services and here again the new minister already has up close and personal experience with such children through the Bal Nivas (Children’s Shelter), operated by the GHDS.
“It has given me an insight as to the inadequacies that exist and one of the biggest inadequacies is human resources; it needs to be addressed urgently,” she said.
She wants to see improvement of the services across the country including more resource officers so that they can visit people when needed. Getting persons who have the requisite skills will also have to be addressed as she pointed out that there is a paucity of psychologists and psychiatrists who are child friendly and she believes a lot that is needed will require cross collaboration with health and education.
The new minister wants to address the policy on adoption. And when children are placed in homes it should clearly be defined what is expected from government and the homes. There is also need for a tracking system to ascertain what happens to children after they leave the various homes. Even if they are adopted, the ministry should still be able to track and monitor them as there is always the danger of trafficking and other ills.
She wants to set up a monitoring and evaluation unit in the ministry which would look at research, best practices, polices, legislation, conventions, and treaties and how the country is in line with such, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dr Persaud has also been passionate about having counselling available in schools and that is an area in which she hopes to collaborate with the Ministry of Education.
Some schools do have guidance counsellors and teachers have been alerted to look for children who may be being abused or in need of counselling to contact social workers and welfare officers.
Mental health is also a big issue and she wants to also have cross collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
“I am one of those people [who] don’t feel it is enough to have sloganeering campaigns. It’s really getting the understanding of the pulse of the people and getting what’s needed to the most remote areas because lots of times what we do is central and not enough filters out…,” Minister Persaud said.
She wants to ensure that the ministry is not hand-out driven as while the vulnerable need to be adequately provided for, them having long term provisions is just as important.
The minister hopes to collaborate with those who may have the resources, such as the private sector and international bodies, to help make things happen and provide better services.
The well-being of women is also a responsibility of the ministry and while of course domestic violence will be tackled, Minister Persaud said she will also be looking at the employment structure of women with the hope that those in the lower bracket can earn more. She also wants to explore women becoming empowered through not only skill training but linking them to people who can be their niche market.
“It is making women being able to earn for themselves, whether they do this as an entrepreneur, they do it as a community or they do it through their own partnerships with other agencies… If women are financially independent that is a lot of the battle won when it comes to violence and abuse, because then they can have the leverage to make decisions when it comes to themselves and their children…,” she said.
And with COVID-19 Minister Persaud said there has been an increase of domestic violence and child abuse and what she has found is that there are people with issues but no one visits them and checks in to see that they are raising their children properly and are not engaged in child labour. She wants to ensure that children do not fall through the cracks as sometimes a report is made, and it is followed to a certain point abut then the case just goes dormant.
Medical practitioner
Minister Persaud comes to the ministry with wide experience as when she graduated as a young doctor she started working at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) in the department of surgery and then later in emergency medicine. After further studies, she started to lecture at the University of Guyana in the department of anatomy, but she also taught histology, embryology, and physiology and as such she not only taught medical students, but also nurses and dentists.
Dr Persaud also worked at the St Joseph Mercy Hospital in the departments of surgery, orthopedics, and emergency medicine. She returned to GPH where she started the surgery programme as it was always her first love having graduated at the top of her class when she did surgery.
It was in 2011 that she entered the political arena, but politics has been a part of life since her late father, Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud, was a longstanding member of the PPP/C and had served as minister of agriculture. Due to her entry into politics she returned to private practice as she did not think it was ethical to request the time off political life needed.
In 2013, following the death of her father, she ascended to the presidency of the GHDS through which, she said, she has been privileged to be part of many projects.
Persaud is also an accomplished dancer, having started since she was the age of four, and for many years has been teaching dance free of cost, which has given her the opportunity to interface with young people from across Guyana and has also seen her mentoring many of them. For 20-plus years she has hosted the popular Naya Zamana, doing the choreography and script writing. The new minister has also hosted television and radio programmes, which she said she will continue to do.
“I look forward to the opportunity to serve. I believe it is a privilege to serve. And the privilege I have been given will never be misused. I will try my best, no one is perfect, but I will serve with dignity and honesty and ensure that anything I do can withstand scrutiny,” the new minister promised.
