Dear Editor
As far as the majority of the population is concerned we have had at least two major climatic and possibly traumatic incidents regarding leadership in the first months in 2022. The first was the passing in April of Yesu Persaud. This icon of leadership in business and religion, and most importantly in the development organisations and the human beings involved in them, was widely admired. One cannot recall which of his tributors attempted to imitate him. Another incident was the contradictory trauma caused by leaders of the National Assembly whose actions degraded the morality Dr. Persauds generation was accustomed to. Many more examples emerged from the former, which were models that communities could respect for their professional and social standards of behaviours that young adults and children could follow. When this anxious father of young, inquisitive adults shared his disenchantment with his family, it was hard to contain his frustration at not being able to make a case for Guyana’s national leaders. He paused, then he murmured the question, or perhaps the hope, that the latters families might be engaging with similar inquiries.
As he thought about the transparent behaviour of the new leader of a public organization, which he described as sterile, condescending and unstable in communication relationships, his pain grew. Transparency was used to refer to the fact that correspondence between senior executives (ICT) was monitored, thereby increasing suspicions of a subversion of character, culminating in an environment that denies any contribution towards much-ballyied human development. A confession of unhappiness at work, a need to intrude on colleagues’ trust, of returning home at night, inept to engage with family, listen to and provide counsel to younger ones, and too depressed to take the initiative to advise them on careers where they could speak out and be counted as equals.
Finally, he burst into a rage and demanded: “What the hell is going on with my children’s future?” and then stormed out of my sight. I was in a stupor and thought: How many more people are doomed for such a restrictive work environment? This is the structure for the lauded Human Development. In the absence of a clear strategy, the leadership might ask the relevant public agencies to: (i.) Investigate and compile human resources deficiencies; (ii.) Create a succession plan; (iv.) Identify the team/s that can address the training needs, even with external support; (v.) Reintroduce Performance Appraisal system and (vi.) Establish a library of relevant Human Resources Management books for senior employees to ingest. The returns should then be reviewed by a team of competent performers, who would be expected produce a comprehensive report with recommendations for approval and implementation by original leaders for Human Development. Recall that scholarships are only a preparatory part of a much deeper human development programme.
Sincerely,
Conscientious Observer