Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 September 2025, 22:11 by Writer
By GHK Lall
Though the PPP Government went about it in a silky way, I still extend a hand of hospitality to Minister of Efficiency and Implementation, Mr. Zulfikar Ally. Welcome aboard, sir, and best wishes. The portfolio has been given a sweeping name, which is also one that could go deep, but only if it is the real article. Because twist it or turn it, and no matter how well-camouflaged, the Ministry of Efficiency and Implementation is, at the core of its existence, the Anticorruption Ministry. For what is efficiency, if it is not energized by proper implementation, and how good is implementation, if it is not derived from efficiency? Efficiency of purpose. Efficiency in ethics. Efficiency in output.
The new man in town, Minister Ally, not to be mistaken for Amna Ally or Excellency Ali, is already going about his rounds and making all the right sounds. What was that I hear, if not something about “best practices” in project implementation? Minister Ally comes well pedigreed: attorney at law, World Bank and Inter-American Development in his two hip pockets. There was also a snippet from Demerara Waves (September 15) about a relationship of some sort with Queens Atlantic Investment, Inc., which I try without success to recall where I heard that business name before. The local Private Sector Commission and Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association both have his back, which makes Minister Ally, Guyana’s closest living equivalent to a ‘golden child.’ I think that he will live up to expectations. My issue from now is not how, but how much. I say so because his portfolio is going to cut across lines, and if given a full head of steam there could be some digging up of a little unpleasantness here and there. All Guyanese should then have confirmation about whether Minister Ally is a striver and groundbreaker, or he is simply a follower. That is, of orders on how to get things done at his ministry.
I note from the same September 15 Demerara Waves article (“Government Efficiency and Implementation Minister to apply “best practices” in project implementation”) that Minister Ally would be working closely with Pres. Ali. Ally & Ali has a nice ring to it, although I confess to having some difficulty as to whose name should go first. Here is the fast and nasty, which hopefully isn’t too ugly. Once Pres. Ali is sincere about all those luscious things and delectable areas that he promised to address at his inauguration, then Minister Ally’s job just got so easy that he could get it done in his sleep. I am going on record again by saying that I am giving the president every benefit, and the trust and hope that he wants material change, and that he will give his leadership endorsement to all change that deals with procurement issues, corruption issues, and project issues.
What was it that the new wunderkind said? Recall that it was “best practices” in implementation. I am interpreting this to mean that there will be competency and efficiency from the ground up relative to how projects begin (that whole process from the pricing of a project to the awarding of a contract), and then the follow-through on how well they get done. Speed. Yardsticks. Cost. Quality. Durability. In short, value for money for the Guyanese people. What else could “best practices” in project implementation mean? As a reminder, many of them are hundreds of millions of dollars each, and a few in the billion(s). If the scope of Minister Ally’s duties does not encompass all these areas, then what is all the hullabaloo about a Ministry of Government Efficiency and Implementation? For the time being, I ask pardon for pushing the public service aspect of Minister Ally’s portfolio to the back burner.
Recall also that it was the Hon. Bharrat Jagdeo in one of his Thursday afternoon karaoke sessions, who spoke about ‘evaluation criteria’ relative to contract awards and projects. Ergo, there is a place now for the Hon. Zulfikar Ally. He should have his hands full, his feet going at full speed, and his head full of pleas about how to go about his work. Let us all be real. In the real world outside of Guyana, “best practices” is the all-purpose two-word partner feeding anticorruption visions and promises. So long as Minister Ally shows that he is an “untouchable” he and I will coexist well. Untouchable re overtures. Untouchable in the context of some orders (those that collide with efficiency and best practices). Untouchable in the caliber of his representation of the Guyanese people. And untouchable in the integrity and quality of his work products. Welcome aboard, minister, and be assured of my supporting presence. On one condition: do the right thing.
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