Minister within the Ministry of Finance Jaipaul Sharma is to be appointed as the new Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, which is where he says the Head of State wants him.
Sharma, who is the leader of the Justice For All Party, confirmed to Stabroek News last evening that he will be assigned to the Public Infrastructure ministry “most likely in the new month” but offered no opinion on the decision.
“It is a process. The president’s decision. He knows best what will suit his purpose. It is not what we decide it is what the president wants. We are all creatures of the president,” he said when asked how he felt about the decision.
Asked if he was excited for the new portfolio or sad to leave the old one behind, Sharma said it was not anything to be excited about.
“I’ve been a minister for several years and yes it is a new job with new tasks but I’m open to go anywhere. I don’t have a difficulty with serving in the President’s Cabinet in any manner he decides,” he explained.
Senior Minister David Patterson subsequently wrote on his Facebook page that he had met with Sharma and was excited to have him join the ministry’s team.
Annette Ferguson, who now holds responsibility for Housing in the Ministry of Communities, was until late April serving as Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure.
Also reassigned at that time was Minister Valerie Adams-Yearwood who held the Housing Portfolio she is now Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture with responsibility for Rural Affairs, while Simona Broomes was moved from the Ministry of Natural Resources to become the Minister in the Ministry of the Presidency with responsibility for Youth Affairs.
