Gov't issues call for more evaluators to improve PSIP implementation

Gov’t issues call for more evaluators to improve PSIP implementation

May 12, 2017 News

The lack of critical skills has been attributed to the lowly implementation rate of the State’s Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP), which currently stands in the vicinity of 20 percent.
Finance Minister Winston Jordan has emphasised that the administration would like to see far more done and took the opportunity to issue a call for retired public and private servants to become evaluators to assist in the PSIP’s implementation.
The Minister was at the time engaging media operatives after the inking of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Guyana and the United States of America (USA) for the Youth Empowerment Services Programme at the Ministry of Finance yesterday morning.
The PSIP – based on research, is the budgeting and strategic planning tool available to Government to translate its policies and plans into tangible projects and programmes.
These projects and programmes represent investments in countries’ economic and social infrastructure and are designed to improve the standard of living of the citizens and provide the foundation for economic growth and human development.
As the capital expenditure component of the National Budget, the PSIP is focused on projects and programmes that would achieve sustainable development.
“We would like to broaden the pool of evaluators. We can do some quick training on them so that they can come and help us evaluate. We have a lot of in-breeding of the evaluation going on right now because the pool is very small, but we would like to broaden this pool,” Jordan said.
The Minister’s revelations and subsequent call would come on the heels of government’s announced plan to increase its spending in the infrastructure sector to kick-start the economy.
When this plan was first announced, it raised eyebrows, and queries were made about the implementing agencies – in this case, the ministries – having the required human capacity to evaluate projects in a timely manner.
Jordan noted, however, that the challenges being faced can be attributed mainly to the absence of critical skills, which, he said, is affecting the timely implementation of the PSIP.
He could not say when the problems would be remedied, noting that it is a “people problem,” but expressed optimism – banking on the series of training exercises being carried out in the various ministries.
The slow implementation of the PSIP has adverse impact on economic growth, Jordan pointed out.
“In the economy that wants a stimulus, it is government spending people look to. We have the monies voted (however) the issue is to get it out into the system so that the dollar can continue making an extra dollar,” the Finance Minister told media operatives.
Further, Jordan revealed Government’s plan to re-establish a central planning unit which will be assisted by intervention from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). This move will likely see the revamping of mainly tendering procedures to accelerate the execution of projects.

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