Despite mounting the PPP/C platform for the recent general elections, Collin Croal, the former Permanent Secretary (PS) within the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, has been appointed the new PS within the Ministry of Local Government.
PPP/C Permanent Secretaries mounting the political platform has been a longstanding issue. The convention is that civil servants do not mount political platforms and if they do then they should resign from the public service. This had been one of the issues that the late opposition leader Desmond Hoyte had raised in the original round of political dialogue with former President Bharrat Jagdeo. Hoyte had been concerned that Dr Roger Luncheon had been named to head the public service.
Croal’s immediate predecessor Nigel Dharamlall has now re-assumed the position of PS within the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs. Dharamlall had previously served as PS within the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs for a while before he was transferred to the Ministry of Local Government last year to serve as PS there. As a result of this move, Croal was moved from the Ministry of Legal Services to the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.
Dharamlall, when contacted by this newspaper yesterday, confirmed that the latest swap had taken place following the elections.
Opposition groups A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) had objected to Croal campaigning on the PPP/C platform ahead of the 28th November, saying that it was a contravention of the standard practice.
When Stabroek News contacted campaign manager for the PPP/C at the general elections, Robert Persaud he asked that the questions be referred to Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Luncheon.
Ironically, the present Minister of Local Government Ganga Persaud was a former permanent secretary in a PPP/C government.
