Rahaman a token on behalf of his office
Phyllis Rahaman has been with the Public Works Ministry for over four decades and has been a “tower of strength” to four ministers during her dedicated years of service.
On Wednesday, subject minister Robeson Benn and staff held a simple ceremony at the ministry’s boardroom to express their gratitude to Rahaman, who worked her way up the chain of command from a typist clerk one to confidential secretary.
Her outstanding credentials included her adaptability, charisma, promptness and endearing attitude towards work.
The ministry’s Permanent Secretary Balraj Balram, in his glowing tribute to the veteran staff, said Rahaman’s departure “has left a vacuum” in the lives of those she interacted with.
Meanwhile, her former boss, Minister Benn, challenged the two young ladies who now man his office to fill the “big shoes left by Phyllis”. “She is an extraordinary resource to assist in your development,” he added.
Rahaman joined the then Works and Housing Ministry in September 1972 as a typist clerk one, and following several promotions, she was elevated to the position of confidential secretary in 1993 to then Minister Harry Persaud Nokta.
Over the ensuing years, she has served ministers Benn, Anthony Xavier and Harry Narine Nawbatt.
