Broomes, Scott shuffled

-Cathy Hughes for telecoms portfolio

President David Granger yesterday shuffled two junior ministers and created the ministries of Natural Resources and Telecommunications to be headed by Raphael Trotman and Catherine Hughes respectively.

Coming seven months after he was sworn in, the change around will be seen as a sign that Granger is prepared to make swift changes where the need arises. His shifting of Simona Broomes from the Ministry of Social Protection to the Ministry of Natural Resources however drew immediate negative comment.

Valerie Sharpe-Patterson
Valerie Sharpe-Patterson

The changes effective from today are as follows:

Ministry of Communities

–         Keith Scott, MP, Minister within the Ministry,  moves to the Ministry of Social Protection;

–         Valerie Sharpe-Patterson, MP, is appointed Minister within the Ministry.

Moses Nagamootoo
Moses Nagamootoo

Ministry of Governance

–         This Ministry within the Ministry of the Presidency is re-designated Ministry of Natural Resources.

Ministry of Natural Resources

–         Raphael Trotman, Minister of Governance within the Ministry of the Presidency, is appointed Minister of Natural Resources;

–         Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection,  Simona Broomes, MP,  moves to the Ministry of Natural Resources;

Ministry of Public Infrastructure

–         This Ministry relinquishes responsibility for public telecommunications.

Ministry of Public Telecommunications

–         This Ministry is established;

–         Minister of Tourism, Catherine Hughes, MP, is appointed Minister of Public Telecommunications.

Ministry of Tourism

–         Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes, MP, will retain responsibility for Tourism in addition to her new duties.

 

Cathy Hughes
Cathy Hughes

“President David Granger, after seven months in office has had the opportunity to identify policy areas that need strengthened Ministerial attention and has made some adjustments to match those national needs with some changes in Ministerial responsibility,” the Ministry of the Presidency announced in a statement yesterday.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo will be freed of some of the workload he has since Hughes will now be responsible for both telecommunications and tourism.

Granger explained in the statement that “The reason is that after seven months, we detected a gap that there is no single spokesperson in the National Assembly, a Ministerial spokesperson, dealing with the digital economy [and] dealing with information technology. So we decided that it was necessary to have a Minister responsible for information and communication technology.”

This newspaper understands that the reorganisation was to maximize the potential of the ministers while giving help to the prime minister who has been burdened with his daily tasks, responsibility for parliament and still having to run the information ministry.

Sources say that the president feels that Nagamootoo “has too much on his plate” and as such did not want to burden him further in light of the major developmental changes government has planned for the information sector.

Broomes, this newspaper was told was moved to assist with the Natural Resources Ministry because she has “hands on knowledge ” in that area given that she was a miner . Government had mulled moving Broomes to that Ministry from the inception but the need was accelerated to coincide with Granger’s plans for the mining sector. He feels that two ministers should be there to cover the broad scope that falls under that ministry, one source said.

The statement said “The President added that there will also be some non-Cabinet movement.  While applauding the work that Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Simona Broomes has done, President Granger said that her knowledge of the hinterland makes her a great asset to the Ministry of Natural Resources.”

Simona Broomes
Simona Broomes

“Minister Broomes has tremendous energy and skill and she is going to be functioning from the Ministry of Natural Resources. She has a very good knowledge of the hinterland and we are concerned with the enforcement of certain practices and regulations in that Ministry,” the President said according to the statement.

The news of Broomes’ removal from the Labour Ministry did not go down well with Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) Head Lincoln Lewis and the public as they feel she has been performing excellently in her seven months in the said capacity and according to one analyst “you do not fix what is not broken”. Said the analyst “I can see them saying she has background and experience in mining so she would do well at Natural Resources but it is the bigger picture. This is a woman who arguably has done more for her ministry than any other since they (the APNU+AFC coalition) took office. She is admired and respected by the working class and they feel she has their best interest at heart…that is a plus for any government. Why move her?” he questioned.

“I can tell you this, employers must be very happy with this decision because I know she would have turned a thorn in their tail because she does not play. Will they find a fitting replacement? I doubt that…,” he added.

His comments echoed Lewis who in a statement said also that the GTUC was not consulted for feedback on Broomes’ movement.

“Minister Simona Broomes, who has arguably been amongst the hardest working ministers in this new administration, is being removed from her Labour portfolio. This news comes as a shock since the trade union movement and employers who desire to comply with the rule of law never expressed dissatisfaction in the minister’s performance.

Neither was the opinion of the trade union community sought as it relates to her performance. Were our opinion sought, disagreement would have been expressed in the minister’s removal,” Lewis said.

Keith Scott
Keith Scott

“Her record of achievements within the short time has been (acclaimed). Workers and employers committed to the rule of law had a trusted ally in her. The workers of this country have lost someone who was prepared to champion justice. Responsible employers have lost a minister who was prepared to work with them in upholding their responsibility. Renegade employers and the self-serving will rejoice over her removal. Guyana as a whole continues to suffer the consequences of gut feeling decision-making,” he also stated.

Under Broomes’ leadership the Ministry of Labour has recovered, from the period May to December 10, 2015, over $59M of wages owed to workers.

She had pledged to continue the fight for workers’ rights. Said Broomes “Rights is a fight that is consistent with the policies of the Granger administration. Our aim is to reverse some of the wrongs and injustices that had been entrenched for many years…There is more work to be done, there are more wrongs to be righted there is still many a mile left for us to walk together to get this administration to where it wants to be.”

The elevation of Hughes to the key portfolio of telecommunications will be seen as a significant boost for women in the Cabinet.

The government has now also recreated the Ministry of Natural Resources which had been in the former PPP/C government and which had been allied to environmental protection.