Newly-appointed Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Valerie Adams-Patterson yesterday said that with the help of her senior staff she will tackle the many problems facing the housing sector head-on.
Adams-Patterson who is an APNU+AFC Member of Parliament and the Chief Executive Officer of the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) was sworn in by President David Granger at the Ministry of the Presidency and will be taking up her Brickdam office soon.
In addition to her new portfolio, she has also been appointed as a member of cabinet.
Adams-Patterson told reporters that she is honoured to be taking up the new appointment as it is a sign that the President has confidence in her. She said that she is well aware of the huge workload of the ministry. “I am always a hard working person and I don’t intend to stop now. I am promising the people of Guyana that better will come and that some of the objectives that we have and want to see become a reality in this ministry will become”, she said.
Ask how she intends to tackle some of the major problems affecting this ministry, she said that she made her first visit there on Monday and met with the senior staff. “My plan is that when I actually get into office…I am going to start first of all with the senior level. We are going to look at what we want to achieve and what are the challenges we are facing right now and we will work together to bring a resolution to those challenges”, she said.
Her personal ambition is to see persons having their legal instruments within three months of completing payment for their house lots.
She assured that “I am a minister for all Guyana”.
Later, when asked about the decision to make Adams-Patterson a member of cabinet, Granger told reporters that the cabinet remains the same size as there are 16 ministries. He explained that government was influenced by the need in the case of Minister Cathy Hughes to improve the rate at which “we were digitising the economy and the country and to pay greater emphasis to public telecommunications”.
He said that in the case of Minister Raphael Trotman which was the second change, Trotman was already responsible for Natural Resources and this emphasises the importance that government is placing on petroleum and natural gas as well as other natural resources. Minister Simona Broomes was removed from the Ministry of Social Protection and is now the Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Granger stressed that Adams-Patterson has a lot of experience in social work, entrepreneurship and community organisation in Region Ten adding that she will be bringing “special skills” to the Ministry of Communities.
Among those on hands to witness the swearing in were Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, Minister of State Joseph Harmon and Minister Keith Scott. Scott’s portfolio was one of three changes in government that was announced last week. He is now the Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection which left his Minister within the Ministry of Communities post vacant.
