Twenty-five ministers sworn in – Stabroek News

-Sarah Browne, Vanessa Benn, Steven Jacobs among new faces

As he entrusted them with a mandate of humility and delivery of tangible service to the people, President Irfaan Ali last night announced 25 Cabinet ministers with seven being new faces.

Among the major changes were the shifting of Priya Manickchand from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Local Government, the removal Pauline Sukhai from Minister of Amerindian Affairs to Minister within Manickchand’s ministry and the departure of Robeson Benn from Cabinet as his Minister of Home Affairs portfolio has been given to Oneidge Walrond.

The table below shows the names of the Ministries with their respective ministers and the portfolios they held before.

 

As he charged the new appointees to execute their duties with humility and to remember that they are there to serve the people of this country, Ali stressed that performance will be assessed and the appointees were being put on notice.

“The new Cabinet today is put on notice that these are the measuring sticks. There will be continuous assessments, and there will be changes where such changes are necessary, because the foundation of this new government is about results, people, efficiency, transparency, and relentless hard work,” he said.

“So it is in that context that continuity, stability, agility, and speed form the basis through which we move forward. And it is in this context that the Cabinet was crafted. You will see the traditional mix of our country—men, women, every ethnic group, youth, experience—and the government that we are building will be supported tremendously by technical expertise and skills,” he added.

To his ministers, he gave a public pep talk, as he underscored that humility is key. “This government is not about power, and I want to make that very clear. Those who wish to exercise power, you will find yourself out of the job very quickly. This government is the exercise of responsibility, service, and humility. No egos, no egos. It’s about service and responsibility,” he emphasized.

“The leadership of the Party has outlined, with great clarity, some of the expectations of our people, and we intend to work relentlessly to uplift every Guyanese and fulfil the expectations of our people. And their expectations are: to live a life of dignity, a life in safety, a life of honour; a life in which prosperity reaches every home; a life in which our elders can retire in dignity and in comfort; in which your communities are clean; you have sanitation services early; in which you feel alive with high quality and standard of living; world-class education, world-class health services,” he added.

To the country, Ali posited that the work they are about to see from his ministers is for every citizen, regardless of political persuasion. “The work they’re about to embark on is for all of Guyana–every citizen. It’s to reach every home, to reach every family, to reach every community—and to reach every home, and every family, and every community—in upliftment, in prosperity, in transformation, in a better quality of life,” he emphasized.

“And to achieve this, as your President, there were many things that the leadership—I sat with the leadership and discussed. There were many things that had to be balanced. You heard me last Sunday speaking about the speed at which we have to deliver, speaking about the magnitude of the task, speaking about the necessity to hit the ground running, speaking about the clarity of the vision, and the level of effort that is required for achieving that vision. And I know also that our country has expectations, and one such expectation was to see massive changes and shift. Let me say that the next five years are the most decisive years in our history, and they must be years that are results-driven, people-centred, and efficient in delivery of service,” he added.

On selecting the persons, Ali said that they are all highly skilled and technically competent individuals. Their services and technical expertise, he reasoned will be part of the driving force of his government that will drive the transformation, effectiveness and the efficiency of his government.

“They all will be playing key and critical roles at different levels, all equal in effort, all equal in service, all equal in responsibility, as we take this country forward,” he said.

However, he noted that the future that his government projects does not rest on a Cabinet. “The future is about all the stakeholders—every level of government—that must be involved and be part of this process of transformation. Our international representation, our international positioning, our security aspiration—all of these things form critical pillars of the journey ahead of us,” he said.

“It is our alignment with our goals, our alignment with our partners, our alignment with the international system that will determine the speed of our success, the agility of our country, and the ability of this country to be competitive and to win in every aspect of national life. That is what we are building: a country that is strong, agile, a country in which our human capital will be driven by knowledge, science, innovation, technology; and one in which the service delivery and service orientation of the government is the centre of the work we do,” he added.

At the Office of the President, he said that himself, the Vice President and Prime Minister intend to lead by example.

“Each one of you shall be responsible and accountable for the delivery of our programmes, the delivery of our plan. Together with myself, the Prime Minister, the Vice President, and the rest of the Cabinet, the advisers, and the technical people that will form part of this team—including our Members of Parliament, we intend to deliver to the people of this country upon all the commitments and promises we would have made,” Ali stated.

“The appointment to Cabinet was not made lightly. Great consideration was given to every portfolio, and what we want to achieve, and the speed at which we want to achieve these results. The choices were never about competition; they’re about complementarity. How do we complement each other? How do we build a team? How do we assemble a team? What are the qualities that we want as part of this team? How do we build partnership? And how do we have a mix of skill sets that will drive change and transformation that we want to achieve? Cohesion is not a luxury; it is a necessity. In an age of rapid development and shifting global currents, the business of government cannot be hampered by division, delay, or dissonance. The people of Guyana deserve leadership that is steady and unified, leadership that places service above self, and leadership that converts policy into tangible improvements in the lives of our citizens,” he added.