The several government ministries renamed by the David Granger administration will have to keep their former names for financial documentation purposes until the Budget is passed and funding allocated.
“On paper all the old ministries still exist and will have to continue spending the one twelfth provided for as no monies (can) be spent on a new ministry until after a new budget and provision is made,” Finance Minister Winston Jordan explained to Stabroek News yesterday.
Last week, President Granger named 15 ministries excluding the rebranding of the Office of the President to the Ministry of the Presidency under which the Ministry of Cohesion and the Ministry of Natural Resources will fall. 26 senior and junior ministers were also sworn in to head the ministries.
The People’s Progres-sive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has criticized the renaming of the ministries with former president Bharrat Jagdeo deeming those rechristened ministries as illegal and emphasising that the law provides for spending only on ministries identified in the Appropriation Act. “Only after a budget or in the budget process you will be able to create a ministry, have it reflected in the budget and the Appropriations Act, allocate funds to that ministry and then disburse resources to it,” Jagdeo said at a party press conference last Friday.
Jordan told Stabroek News yesterday that only existing ministries can spend from the funds identified and the newly created ministries will have to wait until after the 2015 Budget, which is expected by August 11th, to be allocated funding.
“The newer new ones won’t have operation costs allocated so yes, they will have to wait until after the Budget but say, for example, the Ministry of (Public) Infrastructure that was the Ministry of Public Works and they will remain Ministry of Public Works on paper and be called (that) until the next budget when they cease to exist,” he explained.
However, the ministers of all the ministries will be paid as their salaries are referred to as statutory emoluments and the law provides that for the category of persons who receive this type of payment, their monies can be taken from the Consolidated Fund.
In the meantime, Jordan said that for new ministries such as the Ministry of Cohesion, their respective ministers will begin planning their programmes and drafting in staff required and so forth so that this can be presented to his ministry for necessary appropriations to be included in the 2015 budget.
There has been some criticism regarding the renaming of the ministries and the crafting of new portfolios and government yesterday said that it is preparing to unveil details about what exactly they mean and will do.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon told Stabroek News yesterday that by today, a list of the ministries and their descriptions will be available so that the public can familiarize themselves with the institutions.
At the swearing in ceremony of the last batch of ministers on Friday, Granger said that his government is determined to bring good governance back to Guyana. “We are determined to have a cabinet which is committed to national unity, we are determined to have a cabinet which is committed to efficiency and transparency,” he told reporters.
He defended the large number of ministers appointed saying that “the numbers of ministries ought not to exceed 15 and you should not be fooled by the number of junior ministers because, as I explained earlier, they are meant to understudy the seniors and in due course that greyness would be removed and you would have more junior ministers taking senior positions.”
His position was echoed by Harmon yesterday. “We will have 15 ministries. It will be 15 ministries. It will be much less than what the PPP had…it’s the tightening up.
There will be junior ministers in these ministries…there has to be a process of mentoring of juniors by the seniors so that you will have juniors under the senior to be trained and prepared so that when ministers go off, or if something happens, you have ministers and someone capable to take over,” he said.
Meanwhile, Harmon also informed that Wednesday will be the first meeting of the new Cabinet and the focus will be on familiarizing new ministers on what is expected of them. It will also see Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo operating in his designated role as chair of Cabinet.
“New ministers are to be briefed on their responsibilities. They will get (an) opportunity to hear from the president. It will be a briefing to cabinet members and the president as the Head giving them what his expectations are…what he expects them (to) accomplish during his term in office. As per the Cummingsburg Accord, the Prime Minister will Chair those meetings,” Harmon said.