President Donald Ramotar poses with his 20-member Cabinet which was sworn in at a State House ceremony on December 5
President Donald Ramotar on Monday swore in a 20-member Cabinet, more than half of whom are from the Bharrat Jagdeo administration, along with five new faces and a new ministry.
“I have every confidence that this team that I have just sworn in will work. Some of them who have been here before will continue the dedication that they have shown previously in their positions and in the new positions that they will now have; and those who are coming in for the first time, I want to say that you have a good team of people, experienced enough, who will help you along,” Ramotar told a State House gathering after the ministers took their oaths of office.
The new faces include former Region Two Chairman Ali Baksh who now holds the post of minister within the Agriculture Ministry; Bishop Juan Edghill, Minister within the Finance Ministry; Dr Nanda Kishore Gopaul, Minister of Labour; and Ganga Persaud, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, a position that was held previously by Norman Whittaker following Kellawan Lall taking up a posting as Guyana’s ambassador to Brazil in July.
The fifth new face is that of Attorney Anil Nandlall who has been appointed Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs. Nandlall replaces Senior Counsel Charles Ramson.
Noticeably missing from the Cabinet line-up was Shaik Baksh, who previously served as Minister of Housing and Water and also Education in the Jagdeo administration.
Also overlooked for Cabinet postings were: Manniram Prashad and Manzoor Nadir who served as Tourism and Labour Ministers respectively.
Meanwhile, former Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud will head the new Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, which will operate out of the Office of the President, while former Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy has been appointed Minister of Agriculture.
Dr Bheri Ramsarran now holds the position of minister of health. Additionally, former Minister of Human Services and Social Security Priya Manickchand is now minister of education, and Jenifer Webster who was Minister within the Ministry of Finance now fills Manickchand’s previous post.
Those retaining their posts are: Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn; Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh; Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; Minister of Housing, Irfaan Ali; Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport Dr Frank Anthony; Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai; and Minister of Public Service, Dr Jennifer Westford.
Whittaker, who served a five-month stint as Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, has been shifted to Minister within that Ministry. He has been replaced by PPP stalwart Ganga Persaud, who previously served in that ministry as a permanent secretary.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, the longest-serving prime minister in the hemisphere, retains his position as Minister of Energy along with parliamentary duties.
No minister of tourism has been appointed, an announcement which Ramotar said he will make shortly.
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