Georgetown, Guyana – (August 5, 2020) President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, today, administered the Oath of Office to 19 new Ministers of Government even as he cautioned that they will be held accountable during their tenure in office.
“These Ministers will be held accountable not only by the Executive, the Parliament but more importantly the people of this country. I expect that this team will be results oriented, will work in an efficient and transparent manner. The multifaceted nature of the skillsets that comprise this team is what I believe Guyana requires in ensuring that we fulfil the aspirations of all the people of this country. This job is not an 8am to 4pm job but I am sure that you are all be committed to this task. We moved swiftly to the appointment of these Ministers because there is a lot of work to be done,” he said.
The Ministers who were sworn in are Mr. Zulfitkar Mustapha as Minister of Agriculture, Ms. Pauline Rose Ann Sukhai as Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Mr. Charles Shiva Ramson who will head the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Ms. Priya Devi Manickchand who will serve as Minister of Education, Mr. Hugh Hilton Todd who holds the portfolio of Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Frank Stanislaus Anthony who is the Minister of Health, Mr. Robeson Benn who will serve as the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Collin David Croal who is the Minister of Housing and Water and Ms. Susan Margaret Rodrigues who will serve as Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water.
Additionally, Dr. Vindhya Vasini Persaud was appointed the Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Mr. Joseph Linden Fitz Clarence Hamilton is the Minister of Labour, Mr. Nigel Deonarine Dharamlall is the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Anand Persaud will serve as the Minister within the Ministry of Local Government Regional Development, Mr. Vickram Outar Bharrat is the Minister of Natural Resources, Mr. Warren Kwame McCoy is the Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Ms. Sonia Savitri Parag is the Minister of Public Service, Bishop Juan Anthony Edghill will serve as Minister of Public Works, Mr. Deodat Indar is the Minister within the Ministry of Public Works and Ms. Oneidge Waldron was appointed the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce.
The Government is still searching for a suitable candidate to fill the position of Minister of Finance. Until such time, that Ministry will fall under the Office of the President.
President Ali noted that the Government has moved to realign and reduce the number of Ministries in an effort to ensure that the Guyanese people are served in a more efficient and effective manner.
“You would have noticed that we have realigned the functions of the Government to remove duplicity, to make it easier to conduct business with Government, to remove bureaucracy, to improve efficiency and to ensure that we operate in a cost effective, productive and results oriented manner. That is the focus and the team provides newness, freshness, youthful energy, experience and of course, the skillset that is of immediate importance as we tackle important issues like constitutional reform, electoral reform and other aspects of governance including reform of the security sector, managing of the natural resources, the agricultural sector and reaching out to every segment of the Guyanese population. There will be many more important appointments that will be announced shortly. We will work on giving our country the best possible outcome,” he said.
The Head of State told the new Ministers that they have taken an oath to the people of this country and he expects nothing less than the fulfilment of that oath.
Following the swearing-in ceremony, the President along with the Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips and Vice President Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo chaired the first Cabinet meeting where the vision and expectation of the Government were laid out.
