President Irfaan Ali yesterday met with Regional Executive Officers, Regional Education Officers and Regional Health Officers from all Administrative Regions at the Baridi Benab at State House.

A statement from the Office of the President said that Ali convened the meeting to “address critical issues relating to the level of service, efficiency and systemic changes being introduced to ensure that citizens across the country have access to services in both the education and health sectors”.

The President also listened to concerns and challenges from each region and issued a number of on-the-spot instructions to address pending issues and remove bottlenecks affecting the various regions, the statement said.

The meeting also highlighted several important improvements made in the two sectors, including digital solutions implemented in the health sector to improve the timely delivery of drugs and medical supplies to patients at hospitals and health centres countrywide.

Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance,  Dr Ashni Singh; Minister of Education, Sonia Parag and Minister of Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation, Zulfikar Ally were also at the meeting.

This meeting came on the heels of one on September 7 convened by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo where he warned Permanent Secretaries, Regional Executive Officers and other accounting officers that they would face consequences for breaches of procurement and government payment procedures.

According to a release issued by the head of the President’s public relations unit, Suelle Findlay-Williams, the warning was delivered during a meeting at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre attended by ministers, all Permanent Secretaries and Regional Executive Officers, accounting officers from key semi-autonomous agencies and other officials.

It said the meeting examined measures to improve management, accountability and transparency across ministries, regions and other public-sector agencies. Procurement transactions, government payments and the dissemination of information to the public were among the areas discussed.

Jagdeo emphasised the responsibility of Permanent Secretaries and Regional Executive Officers to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations and to properly manage the public resources entrusted to their agencies, the release said.

The meeting also considered initiatives to strengthen the monitoring of compliance with procurement and payment systems, but no details of those measures were provided.

Jagdeo also said the government remained committed to using modern technology to improve the delivery of public services and citizens’ interactions with state institutions.