IT’S been a full week since change enveloped Guyana. An election has been had; a new President has been sworn in and the former President has found himself on the picket line, protesting what he calls a rigged election.The plethora of countrywide activities, in and across Government agencies and to some extent the private sector, has however signaled a clear change in the hands of Executive Power.
This past week, newly inducted Head of State President David Granger, installed his Cabinet, unveiling a wave of restructuring, hardly cosmetic or simply name changes.
LEANER GOV’T
The coalesced A Partnership for National Unity, Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government, currently comprises 15 Ministries with Substantive Ministers appointed to head them. This, as against the more than 20 Ministerial portfolios run by the previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration.
Under the PPP/C administration, Government Ministries included: the Ministries of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Local Government & Regional Development, Public Service, Amerindian Affairs, Agriculture, Tourism Industry & Commerce, Natural Resources & the Environment, Public Works, Education, Culture Youth & Sport, Housing & Water, Health, Labour Human Services & Social Security, Home Affairs, and Legal Affairs, in addition to Office of the President and the Office of the Prime Minister.
This past week the President was also called out on his claim to lead a lean government, as he has already appointed a significant number of ministers, with more to come.
According to President Granger, “There are various levels in the cabinet.” He reminded of an earlier pronouncement that, “almost every ministry will have junior ministers, we have vice presidents and we have other ministers, so the number of ministries will not or ought not to exceed 15, and you should not be fooled by the number of junior ministers.”
He reminded that they “are meant to understudy the seniors; and in due course that grayness will be removed and we will have younger ministers taking senior positions.”
RESTRUCTURED GOV’T
During the course of the past week, the Granger led administration has revamped the entire system of Governance, Ministerial and Executive Structure.
His Excellency has since appointed 15 substantive Ministers to lead the 15 substantive Ministries that will spearhead Government services.
As per the ‘Cummingsburg Accord,’ Vice Chairman of the AFC, Attorney-at-Law, Moses Nagamootoo, was administered the Oath of Office and presented with the Instruments of Office of Prime Minister of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. He was also named First Vice President of the Nation.
MEET THE GOV’T
The Chronicle this week, wishes to introduce to the nation, members of the newly installed Government, inducted by the duly elected Head of State, Brigadier (rtd) David Granger.
• His Excellency, The President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, David Arthur Granger, MSM, MSS
David Granger’s life is grounded in traditional Guyanese values. He was born into a large family with strong roots in the public service and grew up in the three counties: Essequibo, Berbice and Demerara.
He was educated at Queen’s College and graduated from the University of Guyana, where he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. He also attended the University of the West Indies, the University of Maryland and the National Defence University in the USA.
David Granger’s years of military service are based on his belief in Guyana’s independence and territorial integrity. He received his military training at the Mons Officer Cadet School and the School of Infantry in the United Kingdom, the Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre in Brazil, and the Army Command and Staff College in Nigeria. After serving as Commander of the Guyana Defence Force and National Security Adviser to the President, he retired with the rank of Brigadier.
Brigadier Granger made a significant contribution to national defence and public security as a member of several defence and security agencies. These include holding the Chairmanship of the Central Intelligence Committee, Co-chairmanship of the Border and National Security Committee and Membership of the Guyana Defence Board, National Drug Law Enforcement Committee and the Disciplined Forces Commission.
He served in several public organisations and was elected to the Presidencies of the History Society, Guyana Heritage Society, University of Guyana Guild of Graduates and the Guyana Chess Federation. He is also a former member of the University of Guyana Council and the Guyana Press Association. At present, he is chairman of the Guyana Book Foundation and a member of the Guyana Legion and the Board of Trustees of the Guyana Veterans Foundation.
Brigadier Granger has written extensively on national defence and public security issues. He received various academic awards which include the President’s Medal. His military awards include the Military Service Star for distinguished service.
Brigadier (ret’d) David Arthur Granger is married to Sandra Chan-A-Sue Granger; the Grangers have two daughters, Han and Afuwa.
David Arthur Granger, born July 15, 1945, remains a stoic Guyanese politician. He was Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of Guyana from 2012 to 2015. He stood as the Opposition Presidential Candidate in the November 2011 General Election, but was defeated. He was elected as President in the May 11, 2015 General election, and stands on the precipice of doing what no other leader did; that is create a truly unified Guyana, where lines and boundaries of ethnicity are totally subsumed and consumed in a nationalistic manner.
• Prime Minister & First Vice-President – Hon. Moses Verasammy Nagamootoo
Mr Moses Nagamootoo was born on November 30, 1947 in Whim Village, Corentyne, Berbice, Guyana of parents Gangama and Nagamootoo Ramaswamy. He is married to Sita Nagamootoo and has four children; Angela Vashmini, Sita Maria, Adela Gangama and Moses Ernesto.
He was educated at Auchlyne Scots School, Rose Hall & Comprehensive High School and the University of Guyana. He later pursued law at the Hugh Wooding Law School.
He also pursued courses at the Accabre College of Social Sciences and the Venezuelan Spanish Language Institute and is a Fellowship of Allen White School of Journalism, University of Kansas
POLITICAL LIFE: Mr. Nagamootoo, in 1961, entered politics at age 14, during the struggle for Guyana’s independence. In October 1964, he became a Member of the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO) and People’s Progressive Party (PPP). In 1966, he founded the National Union of Students.
POLITICAL POSTS: From 1976-2011, he was a Member of the PPP Central Committee, and from 1978-2005, a Member of PPP Executive Committee. In 2011, Mr Nagamootoo became the Vice-Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC).
CABINET/PARLIAMENTARY PORTFOLIO: From 1992 to 2011, he served as a Member of Parliament. Mr Nagamootoo was a Member of Cabinet under four Presidents (Cheddi and Janet Jagan, Samuel Hinds and Bharrat Jagdeo) during the period 1992-2001. Other portfolios include Senior Minister of Information and Senior Minister of Local Government & Regional Development with responsibility for Information & Amerindian Affairs.
COMMITTEES & BOARDS: Member of Select Committee on Constitutional Reform, Chairman of Oversight Committee of the Select Committee on Constitutional Reform, Member, Foreign Relations and Standing Orders Committees, Council Member, University of Guyana, Director, Guyana Airways Corporation (1994-1998), Executive Member, Guyana Bar Association (2005-2006),Teacher (1964-70), Journalist (1971-92).
JOURNALIST ORGANISATIONS: He was General Secretary of the Union of Guyanese Journalists-UGJ (1970-1992), Founder Member and Executive Member of Caribbean Association of Media Workers- CAMWORK (1986-1992, Executive Member of Federation of Latin American Journalists-FELAP, and Vice-President of International Organisation of Journalists-IOJ (1990-1996).
BOOKS: Hendree’s Cure, (2001 Nominee Guyana Literature Prize for First Novel)
Fragments from Memory (2015)
POETRY: Editor Anthology of Revolutionary Poems: ‘For the Fighting Front’
AWARDS: PPP’s Certificate for Meritorious Service-990, Guyana
IOJ Scroll of Honour as Outstanding Journalist-1996, Vietnam
GOPIO Community Service Award- 2008, India
• MINISTRY OF THE PRESIDENCY – Hon. Joseph Harmon
Minister of State of the Ministry of the Presidency is Lieutenant Colonel (rtd) Joseph Harmon.
He was born and raised in the West Demerara village of Pouderoyen and completed his schooling on the West Demerara before qualifying to do his ‘A’ Levels at Queen’s College.
Because of his circumstances at the time, he was unable to take up the opportunity and instead was forced to find employment.
He worked for about a year in the Geddes Grant motor sales department before enlisting for the Officer Cadet course in the Guyana Defence Force, where he rose from the rank of Second Lieutenant following his graduation, to Lieutenant Colonel at the time of his retirement.
He completed his law degree at Cave Hill in Barbados before attending the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and on completion of his law studies he served for some time in the army’s legal services department, where he was the Commanding Officer.
After twenty-three years in the Guyana Defence Force and another 15 years as a lawyer in private practice, Harmon is an “active politician” and was a new face in the 10th Parliament and served as APNU’s Shadow Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure.
Harmon was a member of the Young Socialist Movement (YSM), the youth arm of the PNC, and at one time he was the Chairman of the Pouderoyen YSM group, later on becoming a Member of the Regional Executive of the movement.
During his army days, Harmon was forced to scale back his involvement in politics, but by 2010, he resumed ‘full scale politics and was the Returning Officer for the elections at the Party’s Biennial Congresses.
Mr Harmon is married, and has six children.
• 2nd Vice President & Minister of Public Security – Hon. Khemraj Ramjattan
Attorney at Law and Co-founder of the Alliance For Change, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan first became a member of the National Assembly in 1992.
Introduction to politics for Mr Ramjattan was through the People’s Progressive Party, where he ascended through the ranks, from being leader of its youth section (PYO) to the position of member of that party’s Central Committee. However, his futuristic way of thinking, probing mind and true commitment to democracy at all levels, including at the level of internal party arrangements, brought him into conflict with the old dogmatists of the PPP/C. It was his vision for a new and progressive political dispensation in Guyana that led him to the formation of the Alliance For Change in 2005, the party he founded with Raphael Trotman and Sheila Holder.
He has been a Member of Parliament since October 1992, serving as a Member of the Public Accounts Committee in 2001-2004, and in a number of other Parliamentary Committees. He has fearlessly and objectively represented his views on numerous issues, some highly politically sensitive, all in his quest for a better Guyana. His advocacy in many high profile human rights cases has given him prominence and stature in Guyana’s legal fraternity.
He successfully participated in the British Council’s Young Lawyers Commonwealth Scholarship Programme in 1992 at the University of London. He is a former Editor of the Guyana Bar Review.
• MINISTER OF FINANCE – Hon. Winston Jordan
Winston DaCosta Jordan is a former Head of the Budget Office of the Ministry of Finance. His stellar academic pedigree allows for confidence building, where Guyana’s economy is concerned: University of Warwick, UK-MA (Economics); University of Guyana-B.Scs. (Distinction) (Economics); Penn State University, USA-Certificate in Budgeting & Structural Adjustment; Harvard University, USA- Certificate in Public Sector Budgeting.
Not the armchair theoretician, Mr Jordan has been in his field and has accumulated valuable experience as a Practising Economist: 2009-2015-Country Analyst, Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU); 2006 (February)-2008 (June)-Technical Coordinator, Public Management Modernisation Programme (IDB), Ministry of Finance; 1998 (August)-2007 (May)-Budget/Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance; 1997 (April)-1998 (July)-Budget Specialist, Office of the Budget, Ministry of Finance; 1995 (July)-1997 (March)- Adviser in Budgeting, Ministry of Finance; 1995 (January-May)-Budgeting and Public Investment Specialist, Ministry of Finance; 1985 (June)-1994 (August)-Director, Office of the Budget, Ministry of Finance; 1984 (October)-1985 (June)-Senior Planner, State Planning Secretariat; 1981 (October)-1984 (October)-Planner, State Planning Secretariat.
The minister utilised his education and expertise in teaching intermittently at the University of Guyana. He served also as Director of (GAIBANK), 1987-92; Bauxite Development Company Limited (BIDCO), 1987-2003; Guyana Cooperative Financial Service (GCFS), 1997-2005; Alternate Director, Caribbean Development Bank, 1986-92; Temporary Governor and Alternate Governor to the IDB, CDB and the IMF/World Bank Group.
This kind of distinguished background was recognised and well rewarded as Mr Jordan deservedly copped a number of honours and awards: University of Guyana Vice Chancellor’s Special Award; Commonwealth Scholarship; UNDP Fellowship; and Hubert H Humphrey Fellowship.
He is married to Charmaine Atkinson-Jordan and the couple are the parents of Jo-Anne Milner, Darren Jordan and Yanic Jordan.
• EDUCATION: Dr Rupert Roopnaraine
Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, comes to the coalition Government from the Working Peoples’ Alliance (WPA), a party that had aligned itself with APNU, ahead of the 2011 General and Regional Election.
The Honourable Dr Roopnaraine has been appointed Minister of Education and replaces predecessor Priya Manickchand.
The portfolios under that of the PPP/C’s Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport, have since been subsumed under Dr Roopnaraine’s charge under the Ministry of Education.
Dr Roopnaraine was born on 31st January, 1943 in Kitty, Georgetown and is the father of Dr Terry Roopnaraine and Alicia Roopnaraine. He is a world respected Professor and Instructor of Liberal Arts, who has lectured at some of the most prestigious Universities and learning institutions around the world.
Dr Roopnaraine is in no way a stranger to Guyana’s politics and the struggles of the working class people of the country having been a leading figure in the WPA, including during the 1980 assassination of his political comrade and colleague, Dr Walter Rodney.
He has been in the front line of the national political movement since 1977 as one of the elite leaders of the WPA.
He served as a Member of the Faculty of the University of Guyana from 1976 to 1990 and as a Member of Parliament for a number of years.
He was educated at Queen’s College (Guyana), Cambridge University (UK), and Cornell University (New York, USA), and holds a Doctorate in Comparative Literature.
Dr Roopnaraine, was part of APNU’s Shadow Cabinet in the 10th Parliament, holding the portfolio of Agriculture and Environment.
• LEGAL AFFAIRS – Hon. Basil Williams
Attorney-at-Law Basil Williams, comes to Government from the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R), one of the larger members of the APNU partnership which subsequently coalesced with AFC ahead of the May 11, 2015 General and Regional Elections.
Williams was this past week appointed and sworn in as Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, filling the void left by the ousted Anil Nandlall.
Williams began his Public Service career as a young lawyer and as one of the Legal Advisors of the late Founder Leader of the PNC, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.
Later, he was to become Legal Assistant to then President Hugh Desmond Hoyte, from 1985 to 1988. Williams also served as a Vice-Chairman of the PNC/R and a member of the Central Executive Committee (CEC).
Williams is also Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Party and a member of the Joint Task Force on Local Government Reform.
Williams holds an LLB (Hons.) Degree from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus and a Legal Education Certificate from the Sir Hugh Wooding Law School, Trinidad and Tobago.
He has served in different capacities in the public domain, including representing Guyana at the 6th Meeting of the Conference of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 1985; City Councillor from 1986 to 1988 and Secretary of the Review Committee of the Companies Act, between 1986 and 1988.
Williams first entered Parliament in 2003 and also served in the 10th Parliament of Guyana as APNU’s Shadow Minister of Legal Affairs and Justice.
• HEALTH – Dr George Norton
The post of Minister of Health was vacated even before the May 11, General and Regional Elections as the then substantive Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, was fired amid a myriad of controversy over offensive remarks he would have made to and about, activist Sherlina Nageer, also known under moniker ‘Lina Free’.
Head of State, Granger, this past week administered the Oath of Office and swore in as substantive Health Minister, Dr George Norton, who has served the Shadow Cabinet of the Opposition as Shadow Health Minister for a number of years.
Dr Norton is an Ophthalmologist by profession. He was educated in the Republic of Cuba, where he graduated with a Degree in Medicine from the Superior Institute of Medical Science in 1984 and specialised in Ophthalmology in 1988. Dr Norton is a Consulting Ophthalmologist and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Guyana.
He is also one of the Vice Chairpersons of PNC/R and a member of its CEC.
He is also the Party’s Director of Hinterland Affairs.
Dr. Norton entered Parliament in 2001 and has also been recognised as a vibrant representative of Amerindian communities throughout Guyana.
• FOREIGN AFFAIRS – Hon. Carl Greenidge
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the previous administration had as its political head, Carolyn Rodrigues but Head of State Granger has since inducted Carl Barrington Greenidge as Minister of Foreign Affairs under the APNU+AFC administration
Greenidge was born in New Amsterdam, Berbice and attended New Amsterdam Congregational School, first spending a few months at the Malteenoes Branch of Tutorial.
He then attended Berbice High School, until he left for the United Kingdom (UK) to further his education. Greenidge is a former Minister of Finance, Planning and Trade of Guyana under the then PNC administration and has extensive experience at the policy, management and technical levels.
He has worked on public sector economics and agricultural policies as well as international trade and finance.
Greenidge has also provided distinguished service to his country, the Caribbean and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States. That service has been in the design and management of Guyana’s Economic Recovery Programme (1988-1992) and the negotiation of the unique north-south cooperation compact, the Lomé Convention, inter alia.
The latter pact aimed to alleviate the burden of poverty in the ACP regions which include the most trade dependent countries in the world and countries for which agriculture is dominant.
He has also successfully headed two joint ACP-EU funded institutions devoted to development and cooperation, and has, in the process, sat on both ‘sides’ of the Donor-Recipient interface.
Greenidge has published four monographs, numerous academic articles on economics, and contributed to books on a variety of issues, including the political economy of agricultural modernisation, international agricultural trade negotiations and marine fisheries. He has been Co-President of the Joint Council of Ministers of the European Union and the ACP States.
Greenidge is a member of the PNC/R and served in the 10th Parliament as APNU’s Shadow Minister of Finance and International Economic Co-operation.
• Minister of Tourism – Hon. Catherine Hughes
Catherine Andrea Hughes is a Media Specialist with extensive knowledge of the Caribbean media and advertising environment. She is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) degree in Mass Communications.
Mrs Hughes has worked at media bodies in the Caribbean and internationally for more than 20 years, having served as a news reporter for the Caribbean News Agency and with the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) as a television producer. She was part of the BBC’s Radio Merseyside team as a freelance reporter.
Upon her return to Guyana in 1993, she started a company, Videomega Productions. Other positions she held include: former president of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), and a member of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union and the Caribbean Media Corporation.
She firmly believes that Guyana needs an “entire public relations” campaign as the country is still unknown to many parts of the world. More than that, Mrs Hughes wants the country to provide adequate training for those securing a career in the Tourism industry.
• SOCIAL PROTECTION – Hon. Volda Lawrence
Among the Cabinet inductees by His Excellency President Granger, Volda Lawrence has been sworn in as Minister of Social Protection with the posts of Human Services and Social Security being incorporated under this Ministry.
Volda Lawrence is an Accountant by profession. She has a Degree in Accounting from the University of Guyana and a Master’s Degree from Gloucester University, England and is a Certified Chartered Accountant (ACCA Level II).
Lawrence is a member of the PNCR’s Central Executive Committee and also heads the Human Services and Welfare Department of the Party.
She served in the 10th Parliament of Guyana as APNU’s Shadow Minister of Human Services and Social Protection and during the course of the 9th Parliament, Chairperson the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee.
• MINISTER OF COMMUNITIES – Hon. Ronald Bulkan
Irfaan Ali was the PPP/C’s Minister of Housing and Water while Norman Whittaker was the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development but these portfolios no longer exist.
They have all been assimilated under the Ministry of Communities and President Granger has named Ronald Bulkan as Minister of Communities under the APNU+AFC administration.
Bulkan is the fifth of seven children of Rehannah Bulkan and the late George Bulkan, both of whom were school teachers.
Ronald Bulkan, now The Honourable Minister of Communities, was born in Supenaam on the Essequibo Coast, and is a product of rural Guyana, though not exclusively so.
He attended St. Philips Nursery, Bush Lot Primary, Yakusari Govt., Massiah Govt., Dolphin Govt. and Queen’s College schools.
He has spent his entire life in Guyana, except for a nine month period in 1979/80, when he lived in the USA while attending the University of Houston.
Bulkan is a co-founder (1983) of Precision Woodworking Limited, a pioneering company in value added processing in the wood-sector in Guyana.
Bulkan and Precision were awarded the coveted Ernst and Young Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year title in 2001; to date, the only Guyanese company to earn this accolade.
He subsequently was inducted to the World Entrepreneur of the Year Academy in Monte Carlo in June 2002.
• AMERINDIAN/INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S AFFAIRS – Hon. Sydney Allicock
Outgoing Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, demitted office still embroiled in a not so laughable matter surrounding the expenditure of $2.1M for her dental services.
This Ministry has since been renamed the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs, with Sydney Allicock, appointed as the substantive Minister.
Allicock, 55, is from the North Rupununi, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Region Nine and is widely accepted as a pioneer of community-based tourism in Guyana.
He was Public & Civic Contributions 2010 Laureate.
Allicock is a representative of the Guyana Action Party (GAP) in APNU.
He has been a key figure in the development over the past two decades of the village of Surama, the North Rupununi region more widely, and Guyana’s indigenous communities, which account for nearly a tenth of the country’s population.
As a former Toshao of Annai, Allicock pioneered celebrations for Amerindian Heritage Day which were later adopted as a national event by the Guyana Government.
Amerindian Heritage Day is now celebrated in a different village each year, bringing both investment and national attention to indigenous communities around Guyana.
Allicock is also one of the Iwokrama Centre’s key tutors for its Training Services Centre, where he has helped train hundreds of young Guyanese, mostly from indigenous communities, in leadership, survival skills, and eco-tourism development. His writings have been published in the distinguished literary journal Kyk-Over-Al. He served in the 10th Parliament of Guyana, with responsibilities for Local Government and Hinterland Development.
• PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE – Hon. David Patterson
Mr David Patterson was born on May 4, 1967 in Georgetown and received his early education at St. Gabriel Primary School and St. Stanislaus College. He studied at the Greenwich University (UK) and graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Quantity Surveying. He is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, Real Estate Appraiser and Project Manager. Mr. Patterson has over 25 years’ experience of providing quantity surveying, project management and appraisal services to both public and private sector clients in the United Kingdom, Guyana and the Caribbean.
He is a member of the Royal Institutions of Chartered Surveyors, and the Architecture and Surveying Institute.
He is a member of the AFC and served as a Member of Parliament (2006-2011), and as the party’s General Secretary from 2012 to 2015.
Other positions held by Mr. Patterson include: Past president of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation, Past President of the Georgetown Dominoes Association and Past President of the Rotary Club of Demerara. He is a Paul Harris Fellow (Rotary Foundation).
