Transitions teams set up by the new government and the past administration continue to meet and according to Minister of State-designate Joseph Harmon they have established a mechanism to do a check of inventories of the state that were used by previous ministers, heads of agencies and other “VIPs.”
Harmon, who chairs the government team, said the former administration’s team, headed by former Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon, indicated that the assets of the ministries are controlled by the accounting officers, who serve as the Permanent Secretaries.
President David Granger and Harmon are expected to meet with all Permanent Secretaries, heads of government agencies, commissions and authorities today at the Guyana International Convention Centre.
The new government’s transition team also includes Raphael Trotman, Amna Ally, Basil Williams, Nigel Hughes, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine and Noel Holder, while Gail Teixeira, Bishop Juan Edghill and Priya Manickchand are the other members representing the former administration. According to Harmon, the meetings have been cordial so far.
Harmon also said no other cabinet appointments have been confirmed but noted that these should be done by the end of the week. President Granger had disclosed on Monday that former Finance Minister Carl Greenidge would be the new Minister of Foreign Affairs and Winston Jordan would be the new Minister of Finance.
Stabroek News also understands that the AFC has named David Patterson as its designate for Minister of Public Works. It will be one of the six appointments the AFC can make in the proposed 15-member Cabinet. It has been suggested that AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan would be named Minister of Home Affairs. Based on the Cummingsburg Accord, which was agreed to by APNU and the AFC as the framework for their electoral partnership, an AFC appointee would head the Home Affairs Ministry.
It is also expected that the AFC’s Cathy Hughes would be named Tourism Minister, while APNU’s Ronald Bulkan, Roopnaraine, Dr George Norton and Dr Karen Cummings would be Minister of Local Government, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment and Senior and Junior Minister of Health, respectively.
Former shadow minister of education for APNU, Amna Ally is tipped to be the country’s next Education Minister.
Stabroek News understands that the former head teacher’s appointment will be announced by Granger sometime later this week. Ally served as the opposition’s Chief Whip during the last parliament and was also responsible for education issues for her party. She holds a degree in management from the University of Guyana and is a trained teacher.
Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Neermal Rekha has handed over requested documents and these along with those handed over by Governor of the Bank of Guyana Dr Gobind Ganga are being examined by the government’s transition team. On Monday, Harmon had told reporters that in a bid to stop unauthorised spending the new government had met with the two officials.
Harmon said that officials have also been handing over unsolicited documents which are being examined by the team.
And after Granger’s second day in office, Harmon said workers at the Office of the President have been cooperating. He said the administration cannot go down the same road the past one did and towards this end all workers are being treated equally. “The public would expect a higher quality of service from us, certainly in the dealings with the government,” he pointed out.
