Guyana was commended today for its vision of a Green State Development
Strategy at the launch of the Commonwealth Association for Public
Administration and Management (CAPAM) 2018 Biennial Conference.
The conference at the Marriott Hotel is being held under the theme
“Transforming the Public Sector for Climate Governance.”.
CAPAM Chief Executive Officer, Gay Hamilton remarked that with the
discovery of oil and gas, coupled with a largely untouched forest,
Guyana is “at a crossroads with a unique opportunity to integrate
economic growth and still be a climate-conscious country. I think they
would be well positioned to be an exemplar to many other countries in
the world who maybe have gone past that point and need to readjust.”
Over the next three days, over two hundred delegates from Commonwealth
nations are going to be engaged on the topic of climate change.
Hamilton stated that climate change is being focused on because it is
“permeating every part of the fabric of our society,” while noting
that “public servants need to be prepared for that transformation.”
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Presidency’s Department of
Public Service Reginald Brotherson noted that Guyana having the
“opportunity to play host to the Commonwealth, is bringing to light
the issues we have with climate change.” He remarked that in this
regard, the country has the necessary experience to lend support to
CAPAM.
“As a country that is being managed also by public servants, we figure
that our contribution, our experiences to share with CAPAM, will be
very ideal for the movement and moving it forward,” Brotherson said.
The Permanent Secretary disclosed that at the conclusion of the
conference, he hopes that Guyana can “borrow and learn new things”
through the “sharing of experiences and cross-fertilization of ideas”
to better manage the environment.