Tabitha Sarabo Halley was sworn in as a Member of Parliament in 2020 for the opposition coalition APNU+AFC, where she is currently the Shadow Minister of the Public Service and a member of the Committee on Appointments and the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Foreign Relations.

She previously lectured in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Guyana, served as a Regional Democratic Counsellor for Region 4, as the Chairperson of the Public Relations and Research Sub-Committee at the regional level, and as Director of the Guyana National Newspaper Limited Board. She went on to serve as Political Officer under the then Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, and was later sworn in as the Minister of the Public Service in the Ministry of the Presidency. Tabitha also served as the Minister of Public Service in 2019 and 2020.

IVLP Impact Award Project: The Importance of Transparency, Accountability and Inclusivity to Democracy

The project included seminars with members of civil society groups and journalists to discuss transparency, accountability and inclusivity and what these ideals mean for the day-to-day running of a democracy. Information from the seminars informed the creation of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) focused on corruption, authoritarian style leadership and the role of civil society in holding governments accountable. The PSAs reached some 63,206 people, engaging the broader public in the discussion about the importance of transparency and accountability in government.

"It is my hope that at the end of this project, Guyanese people will be knowledgeable about the importance of transparency and accountability to an inclusive and equitable society. "- Tabitha Sarabo-Halley

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Tabitha participated in the IVLP Project The Problem We All Live With: Dismantling Racial and Social Injustice, organized by the U.S. Department of State and the Institute of International Education.

Tabitha's exchange experience led to the development of her IVLP Impact Award project. "Lauren Burdette's position as Equity Advisor in the Office of the Mayor of Chicago and her ability to use the data available to guide budgeting agencies, helped me to appreciate how transparency and accountability can positively affect the push for a more inclusive society."

US Communities Visited

Montgomery, AL, Washington, DC; Chicago, IL; Tulsa, OK

Country: Guyana 

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