There have been inordinate delays at gov’t offices because of these shortened hours

Dear Editor,

I refer to the Editorial in the Stabroek News on the 29th of September 2020. It was very critical of Minister McCoy calling on Ministerial staff to start working the full working day and not the shortened hours that were implemented at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. It is apparent from the Editorial that the person writing it has not been at the receiving end of inordinate delays that are being experienced by the citizens of Guyana when dealing with Government offices and agencies such as Housing and Planning for example.

These agencies were never known for their promptness, but have become a hundred times worse since the pandemic and the shortened hours. Every delay is blamed on the shortened hours.

I have a question. Are these Government employees receiving their full wages for working shortened hours? If not, then it is only humane to give them back their full salaries which must come with regular hours. If they are receiving their full salaries, then it is only fair to the citizens of Guyana that they get value for money for their tax dollars which pay the Government sector.

Once general measures such as masks, social distancing, and hand hygiene are applied, all workplaces should be able to resume full duties.

The COVID pandemic is here to stay, at least for another year or more, and the country must not be shut down because of it.

Yours faithfully,

Dr. Madhu P. Singh, M.D. (Obs & Gynae), M.Sc (Clinical

Embryology),D.C.P(Clinical Pathology).