All papers, statistics and materials contained in the Country Profiles express entirely the opinion of the mentioned authors.
They should not, unless otherwise mentioned, be attributed to the Secretariat of the United Nations.

The designations employed and the presentation of material on maps in the Country Profiles do not imply the expression
of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country,
territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

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Division for Public Administration
and Development Management (DPADM)
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
United Nations

December 2004

Table of C ontents
Tabl e of Co ntent s………………………………………………………………
………………. 1
Guyana ………………………………………………………………
………………………….. 2
1. General In formati on………………………………………………………………
……….. 3
1.1 Peopl e………………………………………………………………
…………………….. 3
1.2 E conom y………………………………………………………………
…………………. 3
1.3 P ublic Spendi ng ………………………………………………………………
…………. 4
1.4 P ublic Sector Empl oyment a nd Wages ………………………………………………. 4
2. Legal Str ucture ………………………………………………………………
……………… 6
2.1 Legi slative Branch ………………………………………………………………
………. 6
2.2 E xecu tive Branch ………………………………………………………………
……….. 7
2.3 J udiciar y Branc h………………………………………………………………
………… 7
2.4 Local Go vernment ………………………………………………………………
………. 8
3. T he Stat e and Civil Soci ety ………………………………………………………………
.. 9
3.1 Ombud sperson ………………………………………………………………
………….. 9
3.2 NGOs ………………………………………………………………
……………………… 9
3.3 Ci vil Soci ety ………………………………………………………………
……………… 9
4. Ci vil Servi ce………………………………………………………………
………………… 10
4.1 Legal basis………………………………………………………………
………………. 10
4.2 Recrui tment an d Promoti on………………………………………………………….. 10
4.3 Remu ne rati on ………………………………………………………………
………….. 11
4.4 Trai ning ………………………………………………………………
………………….. 12
4.5 Gende r………………………………………………………………
…………………… 12
5. E thics a nd Ci vil Service ………………………………………………………………
…… 13
5.1 Corrupti on………………………………………………………………
………………. 13
5.2 E thics ………………………………………………………………
…………………….. 14
6. e-Gove rn ment ………………………………………………………………
……………… 15
6.1 e-Gover nment Readi ness …………………………………………………………….. 15
6.2 e-Par ticipati on………………………………………………………………
………….. 16
7. Li nks ………………………………………………………………
…………………………. 17
7.1 Nati onal si tes ………………………………………………………………
…………… 17
7.2 Mi scel laneou s si tes ………………………………………………………………
…….. 17

1

Guyana
Click here for detailed map of Guyana

Source: The Wo rld Factbook – Gu yana

Govern ment type
Repu blic ( within th e
Commonwe alth)

Inde pen dence
26 May 196 6 (from U K)

Consti tuti on
6 October 1 980; amend ed
1996 (in brief)

Lega l sys tem
Based on En glish common law
with certain admixtures of
Roman-D utch l aw

Administr ative divi sions
10 regions
Source: The Wo rld Factbook – Gu yana

In 1999, Bharrat Jagdeo
succeeded President Janet
Jagan, the widow of the
founder o f the Peopl e’s
Progressi ve Party (P PP ),
Cheddi Jaga n.

In March 20 01, the Peo ple’s
Progressi ve Party (P PP ), a
predominantly Indo-Guyanese
party that has held power
since 1992, again wo n the
parliamentary and legislative
elect ions, with the sup port of
all ies from t he ci vic
movement.

A major challenge is the
intricat e rel ation sh ip bet ween
demography and the et hni c
and political divide.
Source: UN OHC HR – Mission to Gu yana… (8 Janua ry 2004)
2
GG UU YY AA NN AA

11.. GG eenneerraall IInnffoorrmm aattiioonn

1.1 Pe ople Guyana Su riname TTO 1
Popu lation a
Total estimate d popu lation (,000), 2003 765 435 1,303
Fema le estimated popu lation (,000), 2003 394 219 658
Male estimat ed popu lation ( ,000), 2003 371 216 645
Sex rat io (males per 100 female s), 2003 94 98 98
Averag e annua l rate of chang e of pop. (%), 2000- 2005 0.24 0.8 0.34
Youth and Eld erly Population b
Total popu lation unde r age 15 (%), 2003 30 31 22
Fema le popu lation age d 60+ (%), 2003 8 9 11
Male popu lation age d 60+ (%), 2003 6 7 9
Human Se ttlements c
Urban popu lation (%), 2001 36 75 75
Rural popu lation (%), 2001 64 25 25
Urban av erag e a nnual rate of c hange in pop. (%) , ‘00-‘05 1.36 1.26 1
Rural av erag e an nual rat e of cha nge in po p/ (%) , ‘00-‘05 -0.49 -2.1 -1.18
Education d
Total schoo l life expectancy, 200 0 9.9i .. 11.4iii 1
Fema le schoo l life exp ectancy , 2000 9.9 i .. 11.5 iii 1
Male schoo l life expe ctancy , 2000 9.8i .. 11.5 iii 1
Fema le est imated adu lt (15+) illi teracy rate (%) , 2000 1.9 7.4ii 2.3iv 2
Male est imat ed a dult (15+) illitera cy rate (%) , 2000 1.1 4.1ii 1.1iv 2
Employ ment e
Unempl oyme nt rate (15+ ) (%) , 1999 11. 7v 14vii 13. 1viii 1
Fema le adult (+ 15) econo mic act ivity rat e (%) , 1999 39vi 33 47 2
Male adu lt (+ 15) econo mic act ivity rate (%) , 1999 81vi 61 75 2
Not es: i 1995; ii Year unkno wn; iii 2000/ 200 1; iv 1990; v 1992; vi 1992- 1993; vii First semester, Age 14+ y ears; viii Exc ludin g une mployed not previously em ployed
1.2 Ec onomy Guyana Su riname TTO 2
GDP a
GDP total (millions U S$), 2002 710 895 9,372
GDP pe r capi ta (US$), 2002 920 2,116 7,111
PPP GDP tota l (millions int. US$), 2002 3,154 .. 12, 014
PPP GDP per ca pita(i nt. US$), 2002 4,085 .. 9,115
Sectors b
Val ue adde d in agriculture (% of GDP), 2002 30. 8 11. 1 1.5
Val ue adde d in industry (% of G DP), 2002 28. 6 19. 6 40. 6
Val ue adde d in services (% of GDP), 2002 40. 6 69. 3 57. 9
Miscell aneous c
GDP imp licit price def lato r (annua l % gro wth), 200 3 4.7 30.3 i 5.6
Private consu mption ( % of GDP), 2003 52. 6 66. 4i 61. 8
Governme nt con sumpt ion (% of GDP), 2003 27. 7 34. 5i 10. 4
Not es: i 2002
1 United Na tions Statistics Division: a Stati stics D ivision and Popu lation Division of th e UN Sec retar iat; b Stati stics D ivision and P opulation Division of the UN Secr etar iat; c Popul ation D ivision of the U N Secretariat; d1 UNE SCO ; d2 UNES CO ; e1 ILO ; e2 ILO/OEC D 2 Wor ld Ba nk – Data and Stat istics:
3
a Qui ck R eferenc e Tab les; b Data Prof ile Tab les ; c Country at a Glance

1.3 P ublic Spending Guyana Su riname TTO
Public exp endit ures 3
Educat ion ( % of GNP), 1985-198 7 8.5 10. 2 6.3 a
Educat ion ( % of GNP), 1995-199 7 5 3.5i 4.4i a
Health (% of G DP), 1990 2.9 3.5 2.5
Health (% of G DP), 1998 4.5 .. 2.5
Mili tary (% of GDP), 1990 0.9 .. .. b
Mili tary (% of GDP), 2000 .. .. .. b
Total de bt se rvice (% of G DP), 1990 74. 5 .. 8.9
Total de bt se rvice (% of G DP), 2000 16. 2 .. 6.8
Not es: i Data re fer to a ye ar or pe riod o ther than that spe cified

1.4 Pub lic Sector Emp loy ment and Wa ges
Data fr om the latest year availab le

Guyana 1991-1995 Guyana 1996-2000
Lati n Amer ica & Car ibbean average 4
1996-2000
Exclud ing Car ibbean average 4
1996-2000
Middle income group average 4
1996-2000
Employm ent
(,000) 13.0 5.2 Civilian Ce ntral Go vernment5 (% pop. ) 1.57 0.61 0.69 0.74 0.59
(,000) 3.0 2.9 Sub-nat iona l Gov ernm ent5 (% pop. ) 0.37 0.34 0.69 0.74 0.59
(,000) 1.0 3.9 Educat ion em ployees (% pop. ) 0.12 0.46 0.58 0.58 1.20
(,000) 2.0 4.6 Hea lth e mployees (% pop. ) 0.25 0.54 0.70
(,000) .. 1.5 Police (% pop. ) .. 0.18 0.30
(,000) 2.0 1.6 Arme d forc es (% pop. ) 0.24 0.19 0.34 0.37 0.46
(,000) 33.0 26. 9 SOE Em ploye es (% pop. ) 3.98 3.14 2.16 2.16 3.61
(,000) 54.0 46. 7 Total Pub lic Em ployment (% pop. ) 6.52 5.44 .. .. 6.05
Wages
Total Central gov ‘t w age bill (% of G DP) 4.4 6.5 6.6 5.6 8.5
Total Central gov ’t w age bill (% of e xp) .. 21. 6 20. 3 19. 7 21. 6
Ave rage gov’t w age (,000 LC U) 180 ..
Real av e. gov’t wage (’97 pri ce) (,000 LC U) .. ..
Ave rage gov’t w age to pe r capita G DP ratio 2.6 .. 1.8 2.0 4.2
Source: World B ank – Public Sect or Emplo yme nt a nd Wages

3 UND P – Human Devel opme nt Report 2002 a Data refer to total public ex penditure o n education, including current and capital expenditures. b As a re sult of a numb er of lim itations in the data, compar isons of military exp enditure data ov er t ime and a cross countri es shou ld be ma de with ca ution. For detailed note s on the data se e SI PRI (2 001). 4 Averag es for regions and sub r egions ar e on ly generate d if da ta is avail able for at least 35% of th e countr ies in that reg ion or sub reg ion.
4
5 Excluding education, health and police – if available (view Countr y Sourc es for further ex planat ions).

Structure of E xecutive Government in Guya na according to World Bank mission in
November 1999:

Number of employees in the ce nt ral pu blic serv ice accordin g t o th e Ministry of Public
Service Management (2 000) 6:

Grade 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Num ber o f empl oyees 52 1686 2841 879 1095 545 288 374 344 278 230 162 61 45 18

Source: World B ank (Gu yana ) – The expe rience an d perceptions pu blic officials in Gu yana (2000 )

5
6 Guyana P olice F orce exc luded.

22.. LLeeggaall SS ttrruuccttuurree

Click here for structure of Government.
Guyana ha s a republic-styl e Government wi th an executive president as He ad of
State. The newly revised 1980 Co nstitution p rovides for the fundam ental rights and
freedom of the indiv idual irr espect ive of race, polit ica l op inion , colou r, creed an d sex .
The constitutional amendmen ts were essentially done throug h the period 1999 to
2002.
Source: UN OHC HR – State Pa rty Report (29 Jul y 2002)

2.1 Legi slative Br anc h
Unicam era l Na tiona l Assembl y (65 electe d b y popu lar vote; members serv e five- year ter ms.7
wome n in par liament : 13 o ut of 65 seats: (20%). 8
The Parlia ment of Guyana cons ists of the Presi dent and the
National Assembly.
Members of the National Assemb ly are elected by secret b allot in
accordance with a sys tem of prop orti onal representati on. T he ten
geographical constituen cies will e lect twenty-fi ve members of the
Nation al As sembly an d t he rem aining f orty members w ill b e
elect ed w ill be ch osen f rom part y- list s. All m embers ser ve f ive-
year terms. 9
The Speaker may be e lected either from amon g the members of
the Assemb ly who are not Ministers or Pa rliamentary Secretaries or from a mong
persons who are not members of the Asse mb ly bu t are qu alif ied for elect ion as
members.
The role of the N ation al Assembly fall in to three main cat egories: legi slat ive, financial
an d ov ersigh t. 1) Th e legisl ative r ole is t o approv e bil ls; 2) T he financial ro le is to
keep the various ministries opera tional an d within a b udget; and 3) The o versight
role is to ensure that the Government is kept transparent and acco untable. 10
The pow er of P arliam ent to mak e law s is ex ercised by Bills passed by the N ation al
Assembly and assente d to by the Presid ent. Where the President withholds his
assent to a Bil l, he shall return i t to the Speaker wi thi n twent y-one days of t he date
when it was presented to hi m for as sent expl aining w hy he has wi thhel d the assen t.
Wi thi n si x months of returni ng a bi ll, a mo tion support ed by the votes of no t l ess
than tw o- thirds of all t he elect ed members of th e N ation al Assembly w ill re- submit
the bill f or assen t. It sh all n ot again be presen ted t o the Presiden t for assen t unless
of the Bil l bei ng so returned up on the Ass embl y resolves that th e Bi ll be agai n
presented for assent. The Presid ent s hall then assen t to it wi thi n ni nety da ys o f its
presentation.
Source: Constitut ion of Gu yana – Chapter VI

7 Sourc e of fact b oxes if noth ing else stated: The W orld Factbo ok – Guyan a 8 Inter- Parliament ary U nion – Wo men in Na tional Parliaments 9 CNN (E lect ionwatch) – Guyana & Sustainable Devel opme nt Ne tworking Programme – Nationa l As semb ly 10 Sustainable Developm ent Networking Programm e – Nationa l As sembly
6
Fact box :
elections: last h eld 19
March 2001 (next to be
held March 2006 )
election results: seats
by pa rty – PPP/C 34,
PNC 27, GAP an d
WPA 2, RO AR 1, TUF
1

2.2 E xecut ive Br anch
cabi net: Cabi net of Ministers app oint ed b y the pr eside nt, respo nsib le to the le gisl ature
electi ons: presi dent el ected b y the majorit y party in th e Na tiona l Assembl y follo wing leg islative el ectio ns,
which m ust be hel d at least ev ery five years; prime min ister app oint ed b y the pres ide nt
The executive authority of Guyana is vested in the President. The
President is the Head of Stat e and C ommander-in-C hief of the
armed forces of the Republic.
Any l ist of candi dates for an el ect ion to the Nati onal Assembl y
designates one of thos e candidates as a Presidentia l candidate.
An elect or v oting in favou r of a list is also v oting in favour of the
Presidential candidate named in the list. A person elected as
President after the year 2000 is elig ible for re- elect ion only once.
The President appoints an elec ted member of the Nati onal
Assembly to be Prime Minister. Th e Prime Min ister is the principal
assistant o f the President in the discharge of his executive
functions and leader of Govern ment business in the National
Assembly.
Vice-Presid ents and ot her Ministers shall be appointe d by the President from among
persons who are e lect ed membe rs of the National As sembly or are otherwise
qualified to be elected as s uch members. Not more t han four M inisters and two
Parliam entary Secret ari es sh all be appoin ted by the President from among persons
who are qualified to be elected as members of the National Assembly .
The cabinet consists of the President, th e Pri me Minister, the Vice-Presidents, and
such other Ministers as may be ap pointed to it by the Pres ident.
The Leader of the Opposition is elected by a nd from among the non-governmental
members of the National Assembly .
Source: Constitut ion of Gu yana

2.3 J udici ary Br anch
Suprem e Court of Judicature; Judici al C ourt of Appea l; Hig h Court.
The Judicial branch vests its aut horit y in th e cou rts. The cou rts det ermin e an d
interpret the law . T he cou rts are in depen dent an d impart ial an d su bject on ly to the
Cons tituti on and the l aw. 11
The Supre me Court of Judi cature consi sts of t he Court o f Appeal and the Hi gh Co urt.
The Judges of the Court of A ppeal are the Chancellor, wh o is the President of the
Court o f A ppeal, the Chief Justice and su ch n umber o f J ustices o f A ppeal a s
prescribed by Parliam ent. The Judges of the High C ourt are the C hief Justice and
su ch nu mber of Pu isne J udges prescribed by P arliame nt. Th e Chan cellor an d th e
Chi ef J usti ce are appoi nted by t he Presi dent ac ting a fter cons ultati on wi th the
Mi nori ty Leader.
Source: Constitut ion of Gu yana – Chapter XI
In 2001, the Constitution was am ended to place the authority to appoint judges and
determine t enure with the Judicial Servic e C ommission (J SC ). The JSC has the power
to appoi nt the Di rector and Depu ty Di rector of Public P rosecu tion s, the Regist rar an d
11 Sustainable Developm ent Networking Programm e – Branches
7
Fact box :
chief of state: President
Bharrat J AGDEO (since
11 August 1999) ; note –
assumed presidency
after resignation of
President Janet JAGAN
elections: Last h eld 19
March 2001 (next to be
held b y Ma rch 20 06
head of gover nment:
Prime Minister Samuel
HINDS (since
December 19 97)

Deputy Re gistrar of the High Court, a nd the Registrar and Dep uty Registrar of
Deeds. The amendments also allow the Presi dent, on the advice of t he JSC, to ma ke
temporary appoi ntments of judges to si t i n ma gistrate courts and the High Court.
The magi str ate courts deal wi th bot h cr imin al a nd civ il mat ters. M agistrat es are
members of the civ il se rv ice an d t rain ed law yers, an d specia lly train ed police of ficers
serve as pr osecutors in lower magistrate cour ts. T he Mi nistry of Legal Affai rs, hea ded
by the Attorney General, is th e prin cipal legal a dvisor t o the St ate. The D irect or of
Public P rosecu tion is st atutorily in depe ndent and can file legal charges against
offenders. The Co nsti tu tion provi des tha t an yon e charged with a cri minal offense h as
the right to a hearing by a co urt o f law.
Source: U.S. De partment of St ate (Human Rights) – Gu yana (2003 )

2.4 Loc al Gove rn me nt
The Local Democratic Organs (LDOs) Act passed in 1980 added another
admi nistrative l ayer. The Act created 10 regions with resp ective Re gional
Administrations and Re gional Democrat ic C oun cils, in clu ding 6 t own mu nicipal ities
(admin ist ered by town cou ncils) 12, 19 district councils, 32 village councils, and 75
Amerin dian coun cils. Region al A dmin istrat ions were est ablish ed t o in corporat e
popu lar part icipat ion w hile man agin g w ithin t he general po licie s of t he cen tral
government.
Source: World B ank (Gu yana ) – The expe rience an d perceptions pu blic officials in Gu yana (2000 ) (ed ited)

8
12 UN O HCHR – State Party R eport ( 29 Jul y 2002)

33.. TThhee SS ttaattee aanndd CC iivviill SS oocciieettyy

3.1 O m budspe rso n
Articles 19 1 to 196 of the Consti tuti on provides for the O mbudsman. 13 The
Ombudsma n, who is appointed by the Pres ident i n consul tati on wi th the mi nori ty
leader, h as t he t ask of in vestigat ing complai nts again st gov ern men t depart men ts,
with the exception of those filed a gainst the Public Service C ommission, the Police
Serv ice C ommission , or t he Teach ing Serv ice C ommission , all of wh ich have
consti tu tional status. The term of offi ce i s fou r years.
The Ombudsman is the only official empowered to carry out all necessary
investigat ions. On ce t his pr ocess h as been completed, he or she reports the results
along wi th any recom mendati ons to the depa rtment in q uestion.
Source: Cent ro d e Estudios de Justicia de las Ame ricas (CEJA) – Ombudsman
See also: Constitution of Gu yana (Title 55, Subtitle 2)

3.2 NGOs
Click here for a n on- exh austive list of prof iles of N GOs in Gu yana.

3.3 Ci vil Society
Social P artners, a n on-part isan , mu ltiracia l lob by group con sist ing of leaders of the
Guyana Bar Association (GBA), the Privat e Sector C ommiss ion (PSC ) and the Guyana
Trades Union Congress (GTUC), played a discr eet but watchful part in the debate on
the main problems of Guyanese society in 20 02, and in the proposals put forward.
The group has con sistentl y cal led on pol iticians and pa rti es to focus pri marily o n
issues of economic and soci al development and thereby tr anscend rac ial polarization.
It h as draw n t he main polit ica l part ies in to compromise and e nco uraged them to
mak e room f or civ il so ciet y in the polit ical de bat e an d econ omic policy -mak ing. It
acts as a n informal con duit for i ntimate di alogue between the vari ous protagoni sts.
The Guyana Human Ri ghts Associ ation (GHRA) is another key body i n the defense of
human ri ghts. It i s wel l known for its moni tori ng of acti on by the G overnment and
the polit ica l part ies an d f or it s human righ ts edu cation for the gen eral pu blic.
The Carter Center, w hich i s funde d by th e United States Agen cy for International
Development (USAID), supports projects ai med at improving go vernance and the
admin istrat ion of just ice, an d at dev elopin g a ltern ative con flict -resol ution
mech an isms, in part icular medi ation between individual s and communities.
Source: UN OHC HR – Mission to Gu yana and Trini dad and T obago (8 Januar y 200 4)

9
13 The Ombudsma n w as first introduce d in 1967 ( click her e, page 7) .

44.. CC iivviill SS eerrvviiccee

The P ublic Serv ice in G uyana in cludes pu blic s erv an ts w ork ing f or min istries an d t heir
affiliated departments, the Regional Asso ciati ons and t he Cons titu tional Agenci es.
Availab le g overnment estimates from 1999 indicate tha t there wer e 21,206 p ublic
service pos ts of which 12,024 (5 7%) were filled and 9,182 (43%) were vacant. Of
the recorded 21, 206 positions, 63% were in ministries, 31% were in Reg ional
Admi nistrations and 6% were i n Cons tituti on al Agencies. Three-fourth of the fille d
posit ion s in the pu blic serv ice w ere in the low est 5 grade lev els.
Source: World B ank (Gu yana ) – The expe rience an d perceptions pu blic officials in Gu yana (2000 )

4.1 Leg al basis
The Consti tution o f G uyana s ets o ut the legal framework for the fu nctioning of the
state. Un der the Co nsti tuti on of G uyana , the President has complete authority over
the structure of the Government and its Ministries. The Mini stries are structured into
a number o f divisions, which are the direct responsibility of the Perm anent Secretary.
Article 135 of the Cons tituti on provi des for a Publ ic Service Commi ssi on (PSC). The
composit ion an d f unction s of the P ublic Service Commi ssi on (PS C) are set out in
articles 200 to 205 of the Co nstitution ( click h ere ).14 The PSC R ules (1998) sp ecify
the lega l r egu lat ion s cov ering such diverse issues as appointments, promotions,
transfers, r etirement, discip line, c onduc t, and rel ated personnel management i ssues.
The Comm ission delegates, with due approval of the Prime Minister, the
administrative powers to a Pe rmanent Secretary, head of Department or the C ler k of
the Nati on al Assembly. The ne w Pu blic Service Commission was formed on
December 30, 2003. 15
The Head of the Public Serv ice ser ves as the Head of the Presidential Secretar iat, as
the Cabine t Secretary, and as the Senior P ublic Serv an t in th e Of fice of the
Presi dent, whi ch now contai ns the depart ment of Pu blic Servi ce Management, the
former P ublic Serv ice M inistry , which has it s own Perman ent Secret ary .
The responsibility for personnel policy an d administration is divid ed between the
Public Serv ice C ommission an d th e Pu blic Serv ice M anagemen t ( PSM ), in div idual
Mi nistri es, Regi onal Admi nistratio ns, a nd, for payroll purposes, the Ministry of
Finance. PSM is respon sible f or all person nel pol icies in t he public serv ice. It s
respon sibi lities in clu de det ermin ing th e number of posts in the Ministries,
est ablish ing salary an d gradin g lev els, and developin g training programs. The
individual Ministries and Regiona l Admini strations are responsi ble for day-to -day
management of s taff , thei r trai ning and appr aisal, and for maintain ing employ ment
an d salaries w ithin limit s approv ed by PSM .
Source: World B ank (Gu yana ) – The expe rience an d perceptions pu blic officials in Gu yana (2000 ) (ed ited)

4.2 Recrui tment an d Prom oti on
The Service C ommissio ns, which represent a horizontal check on the E xecutive, ar e
empowered by the Co nstitution “to make appointments to public offices and to
remove an d exercise discip linary control ov er persons holding or acting in such
14 The oth er S ervice Co mm issions a re the Teach ing, Police and Jud icial S ervice Co mm issions .
10
15 U.S. D epart men t of State (Backg round Notes) – Guyana . Se e a lso: Gover nment Inf ormat ion A gency – “Pu blic S ervice Commi ssion fu lly insta lled” (Janua ry 7, 2004)

offi ces”. I n order to pro tect meri t i n public appoin tmen ts, t he Serv ice C ommissio ns in
Guyana car ry out the recrui tment themsel ves, speci fying ex ante who the li ne
agencies can recruit. Althoug h the arrangements in Guyana per se are not un usu al or
unworkable, delays in approving appoin tments by the Servi ce Commi ssions has
somet imes led lin e ag encies t o appoin t temporary st aff ou tside of the P ublic Serv ice
Commission recrui tment regi me.
There are fou r dist inct modalit ies of recru itmen t in th e Gu yana public serv ice (see
table below ), excluding the G uyana Defens e Force. C onceptually, recruitment differ
in two principal d imen sion s: ( i) arran gemen ts f or en su rin g th at recru itmen t is on
meri t (meri t protection); an d (i i) arra ngements for preventing over-hiring
(establishment co ntrol). Where Service C ommissi ons are in place, sta ffing totals are
constrai ned by a headcoun t, i n pri nciple en suring that staff to tal s are wi thi n an
agreed est ablish men t t otal. T he re lev ant Serv ice C ommission , act ing w ithin it s
consti tu tional prerogati ve, ensur es me rit protecti on. Outsi de of the Servi ce
Commissions, staffing totals are in prin cip le con strain ed by constraints on the wage
bill. Meri t i s the respo nsibili ty of th e boards of management a t agenc y level , and the
hiring manager whe n m inistries recrui t temporari es.
Source: World B ank (Gu yana ) – Public Expenditure Review (August 20, 2002)

Personnel management respo nsibilities i n di fferent parts of t he p ublic sector:

Re crui tment a nd mer it pro tection regime Meri t pro tectio n respo nsibility Estim ated st aff t otals
Tradit ional pub lic ser vice incl. constitutio nal agenc ies (health and oth er non -teac hing s taff) Publi c Services Commi ssion Estim ated at 16,463 ( estimate at 17, 438 pri or to the corporat i- zat ion of Geor get own hosp ital)
Teaching servic e–including temporaries an d unqua lified Teaching Se rvic es Co mm ission An e stimated 8 ,916 t eache rs
Agency lev el – inc lud es Pr oject Executi ng Units, Guyana Sug ar Company , oth er state corporations an d the Statutory Bodie s
Boards of Man agemen t for public ent erpri ses an d sta tutory bo die s
Estim ated 33, 663 ( this incl ud es 25, 875 s taff i n Guyana Sugar Company an d the o ther sta te corporatio ns)
Ministry- recruit ed tem porari es Hiring m anager Estim ated 1, 659

Source: World B ank (Gu yana ) – The expe rience an d perceptions pu blic officials in Gu yana (2000 )

4.3 R em unerati on
Follow ing a t wo- mont h strik e in M ay-Jun e 1999, the Arbitrat ion T ribu nal aw arded an
increase in pu blic salar ies. C ivil ser vice salar ies w ere rais ed by 31 percen t throu gh
the binding arbitration award by a Tribunal. An additional 27 perc ent increase was
granted in the year 200 0.
Source: World B ank (Gu yana ) – The expe rience an d perceptions pu blic officials in Gu yana (2000 )
Despite the se considerable pay rises for mo st civil service officials, the pa y lev el
remai ns insuffi cient to attract and retai n highly needed techni cal staff and managers.
The Govern ment has i ntroduced di fferent sal ary scales in some agencies in order to
attract a nd retai n qu ali fied ci vil servant s in k ey a gencies s uch a s t he G uyana
Revenue A uthori ty.
11
Source: World B ank (Gu yana ) – Public Expenditure Review (August 20, 2002) (edited )

The wage compression in 1999 wa s 8:1 comp ar ed to 6:1 in the early 1990s. Salaries
were more compressed for the technical and professional staff with 3.5:1 a nd 6 .6:1,
respectively .
Some organi zati ons h ave tri ed to compensa te for the low salaries t hrough gra nting
ad hoc benefits and allowances to suppl ement salary. The table below shows that
these can represent a very significant prop orti on of total remunerati on i n some
entities. The first row shows average ratio of total benef its to total emol uments by
year. The second row i llustrates how muc h higher than the average the maxim um
rati o of ben efits to emol uments can be in some particular organizations.

Vari ation of benefi ts a nd al lowances:

In 1993, a 14-grade salary structure wa s introduced and on the basis of job
evaluation, all existing posts were mapped on to the new structure:

Grade min mid max
1 19, 000 20,342 21,679
2 20, 728 22,373 24,019
3 22, 405 24,254 26,097
4 23, 427 25,408 27,391
5 26, 395 29,816 33,238
6 30, 384 34,338 38,288
7 34, 991 43,371 51,755
8 42, 664 53,311 63,960
9 51, 646 66,035 80,428
10 63,871 84, 210 104, 550
11 80,328 106, 950 133, 579
12 98,886 136, 515 174, 141
13 125,167 172, 790 220, 418
14 152,310 217, 542 282, 775

Source: World B ank (Gu yana ) – The expe rience an d perceptions pu blic officials in Gu yana (2000 )

4.4 Tr aini ng

Source: Institution – Title

4.5 Gen der
Some cou ntries h ave adopt ed n ew law s applicable t o bot h priv ate an d pu blic sectors:
Guyana’s Pr evention of Discrimination Act No. 26 of 1997 (which also covers sexual
harassment in section 8);
Source: ILO (DIA LOGUE) – Comp arative stud y of c ontents of civil se rvice statutes (2001)

12
Click here for IL O w ebsit e on Equal E mploy men t Opportunit ies in Gu yan a.

55.. EEtthhiiccss aanndd CC iivviill SS eerrvviiccee

5.1 C orru ption
The CPI Score relates to perceptions of th e de gree of corruption as seen by business
people an d cou ntry an aly sts an d ran ges betw een 10 (high ly clean ) an d 0 (h igh ly
corrupt).

Co rruptio n Pe rce ptio ns Inde x

2003 C PI Score Surveys Use d Standard Dev iation High-Lo w Range Num ber Inst.
90 pe rcent conf idence range
Rank Country
1 Highl y clean 9.7 8 0.3 9.2 – 10. 0 4 9.5 – 9. 9
.. Country .. .. .. .. .. ..
133 Highl y corrup t 1.3 8 0.7 0.3 – 2. 2 6 0.9 – 1. 7
Source: Transpa renc y Inte rnation al – Corruption P erceptions Index 2003
Surveys U sed: Refers to the number of surve ys that were used to assess a country’s perfor mance. 17 surve ys were
used and at least 3 surve ys were required for a cou ntry to be included in the CPI.
Stand ard De viation: Indicates differences in the values of the sour ces. Values belo w 0.5 indicate ag reement, values
bet ween 0.5 and c. 0.9 indicate some agreeme nt, while va lues equ al or larger t han 1 indicate disagreement.
High -Lo w Rang e: Provides the h ighest and lowest values of the sources.
Num ber Ins tituti ons: Refe rs to th e number of inde pendent institutions that assessed a countr y’s perf ormance. Since
some institutions provided more t han one surve y.
90 perce nt confi dence ra nge : Provides a range of possible values of the CPI score. With 5 percent p robabilit y the score
is above this range and with anot her 5 pe rcent it is below .

According to a World Bank analysis based on a survey of public officials in Gu yana
undertake n between No vember 1999 and Ja nuar y 2000, there is a strong percep tion
of the ex ist ence of corru ption in th e pu blic sector, and only 9% o f officials rep orted
havi ng kno wn of a nother offi cial bei ng disc iplined for embezzl em ent. 93% of all
surveyed o fficials believe tha t corru ption is sign ifican t in th e public sect or, an d 9% of
offi cials reported havi ng kno wn of an other offi cial bei ng discip lined for
embezzlem ent.
Officials in regulatory agen cies (such as La nd Regi stry, Supreme C ourt Registry,
Cus toms and Excise, Births and Deaths Re gistry and licensing agencies) had the
most opportunity for corruption – more than those in ser vice de liver y agencies (such
as h ospit als , edu cation al institution s) or in po sit ion s involving pu rch ases on beh alf of
government. Public o fficials believ e that corruption was observed most often around
a) evasion of taxes and customs duties, and ( b) t o av oid h arassmen t by police or
regulatory bodies.
Officials consider that report ing corruption c an be best encouraged by ensuring tha t
the i denti ty of the person wh o reports the incident of corru ption will be kept secret.
Officials believe that meri t-based recrui tment, better pay and stiffer puni shmen t wi ll
reduce corruption in the public sector.
Source: World B ank (Gu yana ) – The expe rience an d perceptions pu blic officials in Gu yana (2000 )

The Integrity Commission, created in 1997, is headed b y Bishop R andolph George
and comprises members of civil society. It stipulates that the President, Ministe rs of
Government and seni or publ ic servi ce offi ce rs submit declarations on their assets.
13

14
Section Four of the Act contains a Code of Conduct, which states: “Any person in
public life who is in breach of any provision of the Code of Conduct shall be liable, on
summary conviction, to a fine of $25,000 and to punishment for a period of not less
than six months and not more than one year”.
In the past, the Integrity Commission had pu blicized a notice regarding some public
officers’ failure to comply with the Commiss ion’s Act. The notice listed eleven MPs
and 31 regional officials who have not complied with the statute.
Source: Office of the President – “President swears in Integrity Commission” (October 26, 2004)

5.2 Ethics

Source: Institution – Title

66.. ee–GG oovveerrnnmm eenntt

e-Go vernmen t
Readi ness In dex:
The inde x refe rs to the
generic capacity or
aptitude of the p ublic
sector to use ICT for
encapsulating in public
services and deploy ing
to the public, high
quality infor mation
(explicit know led ge) and
effective communication
tools that support
human developm ent.
The inde x is comprised
of three sub -inde xes:
Web Measure In dex,
Telecommunications
Infrastructure Ind ex and
Human Capital I ndex.

0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
Guyana
Barbados
Cuba
Grena
da
Jamaica
Saint Lucia
Surinam
e
TTO
e- Gover nm ent R ead iness I ndex
6.1 e -Gove rnme nt Readiness

Web Measure Index:
A scale based on
progressively
sophisticated w eb
services present.
Coverage an d
sophistication of state-
provided e-service and
e-product availability
correspond to a
numerical classification.

Source: United N ations – World Public Sector Report 2003
15
Teleco mm uni cations
Infrastr ucture In dex:
A composite, w eighted
average inde x of six
primar y indices, based
on basic infrastructural
indicators that define a
countr y’s ICT infr a-
structure capacity.
Primar y indicator s are:
PC’s, Internet us ers,
online population and
Mobile phones.
Secondar y indica tors
are TVs and t elephone
lines.

Huma n Ca pital Index :
A composite of the adult literac y rate and the com bined primar y, secondar y and ter tiary gross enrolm ent ratio, with t wo thirds of the weight
given to adult literac y and one thir d to the gr oss enrolment ratio.

0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
Guyana
Barbados
Cuba
Grenada
Jamaica
Saint Lucia
Surinam
e
TTO
W eb Meas ure Index Telecom. Infrastructure Index Hu man Ca pital Index
Sou rce: United Nations – World Public Sec tor R epo rt 2 003

e-Partici pation
Index :
Refer s to the willing-
ness, on the part of
the government , to
use ICT to p rovide
high qualit y infor ma-
tion (explicit know-
ledge) and eff ective
communication tools
for the specific
purpose of emp ower-
ring people for able
participation in
consultations and
decision-making both
in their capacity as
consumers of pu blic
services and as
citizens.
6.2 e -Par ticipation
e-informa tion:
The govern ment
websites offer
information on
policies and
programs, b udge ts,
law s and regulati ons,
and other briefs of
key public interest.
Tools for dissemi-
nating of informa tion
exist for timel y access
and use of public
information, including
web forums, e -mail
lists, new sgroups and
chat rooms.
e-decis ion maki ng:
The govern ment
indicates that it will
take citizens input
into account in
decision making and
provides actual
feedback on the
outcome of specific
issues.
e-co nsul tati on:
The govern ment website explains e-consultation mechanisms and tool s. It offers a choice of public policy topics online for disc ussion w ith
real time and arc hived access to audios and vi deos of public meetings. The gover nment enc ourag es citizens to participate in dis cussions.
16
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
Guyana
Barbados
Cuba
Grenada
Jamai
ca
Saint Lucia
Suriname
TTO
e-information e-de cision m aking e-cons ultation
Source: United N ations – World Public Sector Report 2003 d
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
Guyana
Barbados
Cuba

Grenada
Jamaica
Saint Lucia
Suriname TTO
e-Particip atio n In dex
Source: United N ations – World Public Sector Re port 2003 d

77.. LLiinnkkss

7.1 Nati onal sites
Author ity Topic
Office of t he Pr esi dent https:// www .op.go v.g y/

Government Informati on Agency https:// www .gina.g ov.g y/
Government Ministries https:// www .gina.g ov.g y/ministries.html

Parl iam ent https:// www .sdn p.org.g y/parliamen t/
Acts of Parli ament https:// www .sdn p.org.g y/parliamen t/acts1.htm

Sus tainabl e D evelop ment Net working Progra mm e https:// www .sdn p.org.g y

7.2 Mi scellan eous si tes
Institu tion Topic
Centro La tinamer icano de A dministra cion Para el De sar rollo (CL AD) https:// www .clad.o rg.ve
Caribbea n Co mmun ity (CARICOM) https:// www .ca ricom.org/
Dev elopment Gate way https:// www .developmentgate way.org/countryp rofile/…
Inter -America n Dev elopment Bank (IA DB) https:// www .iadb .org/exr/countr y/en g/gu yana/
Organiza tion o f American S tates (OAS ) https:// www .oas.o rg
Uni t for t he Pr omoti on of Democra cy ( UPD ) – OAS https:// www .upd.o as.org
Un ited Na tio ns in Guy ana https:// www .un.or g.g y/
Un ited Na tio ns Dev elopment Programme ( UND P) https:// www .undp. org.g y/
UN PA N https:// www .unpa n.org/virtual_libra ry-byregion.asp
World Bank (W B) https:// www .world bank.org/g y
17