Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge, who was forced to step down because of his dual citizenship will remain at that ministry, President David Granger said yesterday before noting that while all the details have not yet been finalised, a key role in the ongoing border controversy with Venezuela and Guyana’s economic relations with other countries are on the cards.
Granger announced the appointment of Dr. Karen Cummings, the then Minister within the Ministry of Public Health as Greenidge’s replacement days after several other new ministers were named. This delay had cause observers to question whether Granger was looking to appoint Greenidge, who sat at the helm of the ministry since the APNU+AFC coalition government took office in May 2015, in a prominent position in that ministry. From the inception, he had indicated that he expected Greenidge and the three other dual citizen ministers, who also resigned, to stay on and serve government in other capacities. One of them, the former Minister of State Joseph Harmon is now the Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency.
When asked by Stabroek News shortly after swearing in two new members of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) whether a final decision has been made on the retention of Greenidge, Granger said that he will remain at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, while noting that he has had several meetings with him as well as with Minister Cummings.
“I am to meet them again to let them know what my decision is but I expect that Greenidge will contribute to the continuity of work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially in relation to the territorial controversy with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela that is ongoing and he is engaged with the team and as you know the case is before the ICJ and there are certain aspects of the international economic relations of Guyana with other countries that I will ask him to accept responsibility for”, Granger said.
It is unclear how soon he will re-engage the duo and finalise the details of Greenidge’s intended portfolio.
Granger, while stressing that there is one ministry and not two, said that Cummings is the Minister and that all other foreign affairs-related matters will fall under her. He said that she is a Member of Cabinet and will go to the National Assembly to speak for Guyana’s international relations and to defend her ministry.
On April 25th, Granger had announced that Dawn Hastings-Williams, Haimraj Rajkumar and Tabitha Sarabo-Halley would serve as Minister of State in the Ministry of the Presidency, Minister of Business and Minister of the Public Service in the Ministry of the Presidency, respectively.
Cummings’ new portfolio was announced at a swearing in ceremony on May 2.
When asked what led to Cummings being appointed as Foreign Affairs Minister, Granger had said to reporters, “The deciding factor is that the country could not be without a foreign minister and I felt in my considered judgement that she was the fittest person to hold that portfolio.”
Cummings later acknowledged that she had no foreign affairs experience. “’It’s a learning curve for me and I look forward to working and making myself available and to serve with distinction,” she had said moments after taking the oath of office.
She told reporters that she is aware that her new portfolio entails a lot of hard work but she “is prepared for the task.” She expressed hope that she will be able to serve in her new capacity with distinction adding that “to some extent” it came as a surprise to her as she herself had been wondering who would fill that post given the vacancy.
Cummings said that she thinks that Greenidge can be her “coach” to help her to get familiar with her new portfolio. “…I look forward to working with him,” she had said.
