Dr. Roopnaraine reassigned; Nicolette Henry to perform duties of Education Minister

Jun 14, 2017 News

More than two years after taking the helm of one of the most powerful ministries, Dr. Rupert

Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine

Roopnaraine is no longer the Minister of Education.
The 74-year-old has been reassigned to the Ministry of the Presidency and will head the Department of Public Service.
Until a substantive minister is appointed, performing the duties of the Minister of Education will be Junior Minister, Nicolette Henry.
The announcement was made yesterday during a break of the weekly Cabinet meeting, by Minister of State Joseph Harmon.
The move was not totally unexpected as the minister had been admitted to hospital a few months ago, and was said to taking it easy.
With a large budget and schools across the country, the Ministry has been a challenging one.
According to Harmon yesterday, in a released video interview, President David Granger briefed Cabinet yesterday that he had a discussion with Dr. Roopnaraine on Monday, and after that discussion it was agreed that Dr. Roopnaraine would be reassigned from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of the Presidency with specific responsibility for the Public Service.
“The President further briefed Cabinet that a department under the Ministry of the Presidency will be created to oversee innovation and reform in the education sector. This department will be under the President himself.”
The appointment of Roopnaraine in the Ministry of the Presidency will take effect from tomorrow. He will continue to be a member of the Cabinet and member of the National Assembly.
“In the meantime, Minister within the Ministry of Education, Minister Nicolette Henry, will continue to perform the functions of the office of the Minister of Education until further notice.”
In the meantime, the Ministry of the Presidency, in a statement, said that adjustment to the Cabinet would be the third in two years of the administration.

Education Minister (ag), Nicolette Henry

Harmon said that the Head of State has full confidence in his Ministers’ abilities to fulfill the new responsibilities to which they have been assigned.
“He continues to have full confidence in Dr. Roopnaraine as a valued member of Cabinet as well as a valued member of the National Assembly and it is felt that overseeing the Public Service would add to the quality of service, which is provided to the people of Guyana,” Minister Harmon said.
In 2016, the President had also initiated some changes to his Cabinet.
Catherine Hughes was appointed Minister of Public Telecommunications while the Ministry of Governance and the Protection of the National Patrimony were delinked and the latter renamed the Ministry of Natural Resources and assigned to Minister Raphael Trotman.
The functions of the Ministry of Governance were then added to the portfolio of Prime Minister, Mr. Moses Nagamootoo. In addition, Minister Simona Broomes was also shifted from the Ministry of Social Protection to the Ministry of Natural Resources, while Minister Keith Scott was moved to the Ministry of Social Protection from the Ministry of Communities and was tasked with responsibility for Labour.
Minister Valerie Sharpe-Patterson was then given the nod for the post of Minister within the Ministry of Communities with responsibility for Housing.
In January of this year, President Granger made some additional changes to his Cabinet, reassigning Minister Volda Lawrence from the Ministry of Social Protection to head the Ministry of Public Health while Minister Amna Ally was moved from the Ministry of Social Cohesion to the Ministry of Social Protection. Former Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton was moved then from the Ministry of Public Health to the Ministry of Social Cohesion, which falls under the purview of the Ministry of the Presidency.