A worrying state of affairs

Oct 20, 2020 Front Page Comment, News

Kaieteur News – The post of Foreign Secretary was a political contrivance. It was created following the affirmation by the Court that persons who held dual citizenship were ineligible to sit in the National Assembly, and consequently and in accordance with the Constitution, to hold ministerial office. It is believed that in order to re-employ former Foreign Minister, Carl Greenidge, within the Foreign Ministry, the post of Foreign Secretary was created. No less a person than incumbent Vice President labelled the appointment as incestuous.
It therefore came as a surprise when the new PPP/C government announced that former Minister of Natural Resources, and, Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, had been appointed Foreign Secretary within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The appointment was greeted with a thunderstorm of criticisms, including from within the Diaspora. Many questioned Persaud’s suitability for the post.
Robert Persaud was at the helm of the Ministry of Natural Resources when the Canje and Kaieteur oil blocks were handed out. Global Witness, a reputable non-governmental body, had less than flattering things to say about Persaud’s recollection of the identities of those handed these oil blocks.
Just prior to the 2011 elections, Persaud announced that he was taking a political sabbatical. He has now reappeared as the government’s point person on international cooperation. His new posting will require of him a role in agreements signed between Guyana and other countries. It is not a comforting thought.

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