PM Nagamootoo says Guyana seek closer collaboration with international partners

While addressing at the  2018 Biennial Conference of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management, (CAPAM) the Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo Monday said Guyana would seek to re-position the public sector as the country develops its new oil and gas industry.

Nagamootoo said the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country was also seeking close collaboration and partnerships in dealing with a number of areas including climate change.

“The Cooperative Republic of Guyana is keen to collaborate with and learn from all innovative ideas at this historic juncture when we ourselves are engaged in re-orienting and re-positioning our public sector to embark on the path of a green state agenda as well as management of our environment as we develop a new oil and gas industry,” he told the delegates from 23 countries attending the three-day event.

Prime Minister Nagamootoo, said that oil and gas had become the new buzz word in the country and with it comes new responsibilities for the public sector.

Guyana is seeking to develop the oil and gas industry ever since the US-based oil giant, ExxonMobil discovered large quantities of the product in the country’s territorial waters last year.

Nagamootoo said that while the focus would be to develop and implement strategies to secure the better life for Guyanese citizens, the public sector has to be prepared to grapple with environmental and climate governance challenges and the green agenda as a whole.

“The public sector is a critical stakeholder in the guardian of the national patrimony. The national patrimony cannot be divorced from climate considerations, anymore than it can be separated from matters of economics, related to improving the lives of our citizens”.

The Acting President said Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) offers a 20-year national development plan and serves as a mechanism for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that have been adopted by all United Nations member states.

“While CAPAM will invariably play its part in assisting with transformational change and international cooperation, a sustained, local multi-stakeholder approach to any green agenda is necessary for its effective and efficient implementation,” he said.

Nagamootoo reminded participants of the important task to help countries meet the challenges of climate change, to adapt to changing circumstances and conditions, and to align the public sectors with the efforts of the rest of humanity to implement appropriate climate governance.

The conference is being held under the theme “Transforming the Public Sector for Climate Governance,”’ and brings together an international network of public service managers, who will examine common ground in addressing the threats of climate change while ensuring sound economic growth.

The organisers said that the event is not intended as a platform for gloom-and-doom scenarios, but rather an opportunity for experts and practitioners to set out arguments for a prosperous future that includes the public service as being responsible custodians for the environment.

They said that the conference will provide attendees with background information that underscores the economic and environmental challenges at their doorsteps while pointing out the risks with which the public service should be preoccupied in achieving results and being accountable.

The three-day conference is expected to offer insightful dialogue, theoretical and practical knowledge exchange and networking opportunities.

The conference programme will culminate with the CAPAM International Innovations Awards presentations to recognize excellence in public service innovation.