Georgetown: There are fifteen members in the Cabinet of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government lead by President David A. Granger. Following are their profiles:
His Excellency, The President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, David Arthur Granger, MSM, MSS
David Granger’s life is grounded in traditional Guyanese values. He was born into a large family with strong roots in the public service and grew up in the three counties: Essequibo, Berbice and Demerara.
He was educated at Queen’s College and graduated from the University of Guyana, where he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. He also attended the University of the West Indies, the University of Maryland and the National Defence University in the USA.
David Granger’s years of military service are based on his belief in Guyana’s independence and territorial integrity. He received his military training at the Mons Officer Cadet School and the School of Infantry in the United Kingdom, the Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre in Brazil, and the Army Command and Staff College in Nigeria. After serving as Commander of the Guyana Defence Force and National Security Adviser to the President, he retired with the rank of Brigadier.
Brigadier Granger made a significant contribution to national defence and public security as a member of several defence and security agencies. These include holding the Chairmanship of the Central Intelligence Committee, Co-chairmanship of the Border and National Security Committee and Membership of the Guyana Defence Board, National Drug Law Enforcement Committee and the Disciplined Forces Commission.
He served in several public organisations and was elected to the Presidencies of the History Society, Guyana Heritage Society, University of Guyana Guild of Graduates and the Guyana Chess Federation. He is also a former member of the University of Guyana Council and the Guyana Press Association. At present, he is chairman of the Guyana Book Foundation and a member of the Guyana Legion and the Board of Trustees of the Guyana Veterans Foundation.
Brigadier Granger has written extensively on national defence and public security issues. He received various academic awards which include the President’s Medal. His military awards include the Military Service Star for distinguished service.
Brigadier (ret’d) David Arthur Granger is married to Sandra Chan-A-Sue Granger; the Grangers have two daughters, Han and Afuwa.
David Arthur Granger, born July 15, 1945, remains a stoic Guyanese politician. He was Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of Guyana from 2012 to 2015. He stood as the Opposition Presidential Candidate in the November 2011 General Election, but was defeated. He was elected as President in the May 11, 2015 General election, and stands on the precipice of doing what no other leader did; that is create a truly unified Guyana, where lines and boundaries of ethnicity are totally subsumed and consumed in a nationalistic manner.
Moses Verasammy Nagamootoo, Prime Minister & First Vice-President
Mr Moses Nagamootoo was born on November 30, 1947 in Whim Village, Corentyne, Berbice, Guyana of parents Gangama and Nagamootoo Ramaswamy. He is married to Sita Nagamootoo and has four children; Angela Vashmini, Sita Maria, Adela Gangama and Moses Ernesto.
He was educated at Auchlyne Scots School, Rose Hall & Comprehensive High School and the University of Guyana. He later pursued law at the Hugh Wooding Law School.
He also pursued courses at the Accabre College of Social Sciences and the Venezuelan Spanish Language Institute and is a Fellowship of Allen White School of Journalism, University of Kansas
Political Life
Mr. Nagamootoo, in 1961, entered politics at age 14, during the struggle for Guyana’s independence. In October 1964, he became a Member of the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO) and People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
In 1966, he founded the National Union of Students.
Political Posts
From 1976-2011, he was a Member of the PPP Central Committee, and from 1978-2005, a Member of PPP Executive Committee.
In 2011, Mr Nagamootoo became the Vice-Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC).
Cabinet/Parliamentary portfolio
From 1992 to 2011, he served as a Member of Parliament. Mr Nagamootoo was a Member of Cabinet under four Presidents (Cheddi and Janet Jagan, Samuel Hinds and Bharrat Jagdeo) during the period 1992-2001.
Other portfolios include Senior Minister of Information and Senior Minister of Local Government & Regional Development with responsibility for Information & Amerindian Affairs.
Committees & Boards:
Member of Select Committee on Constitutional Reform, Chairman of Oversight Committee of the Select Committee on Constitutional Reform, Member, Foreign Relations and Standing Orders Committees, Council Member, University of Guyana, Director, Guyana Airways Corporation (1994-1998), Executive Member, Guyana Bar Association (2005-2006),Teacher (1964-70), Journalist (1971-92).
Journalist Organisations
He was General Secretary of the Union of Guyanese Journalists-UGJ (1970-1992), Founder Member and Executive Member of Caribbean Association of Media Workers- CAMWORK (1986-1992, Executive Member of Federation of Latin American Journalists-FELAP, and
Vice-President of International Organisation of Journalists-IOJ (1990-1996).
Books
Hendree’s Cure, (2001 Nominee Guyana Literature Prize for First Novel)
Fragments from Memory (2015)
Poetry
Editor Anthology of Revolutionary Poems: “For the Fighting Front”
Awards
PPP’s Certificate for Meritorious Service-1990, Guyana
IOJ Scroll of Honour as Outstanding Journalist-1996, Vietnam
GOPIO Community Service Award- 2008, India
Mr. Joseph Harmon, Minister of State
Mr. Joseph Harmon. was born and raised in the West Demerara village of Pouderoyen and completed his schooling on the West Demerara before qualifying to do his ‘A‘ Levels at Queen‘s College. However, because of his circumstances he was unable to take up the opportunity and instead was forced to find employment. He worked for about a year in the Geddes Grant motor sales department before enlisting for the Officer Cadet course in the Guyana Defence Force, where he rose from the rank of Second Lieutenant following his graduation, to Lieutenant Colonel at the time of his retirement.
He applied for early retirement from the army as he wanted to do something else. During his years in the army, Mr Harmon took advantage of all the training it provided, including travelling widely in and out of Guyana and in his later years he also made use of the opportunity afforded to officers to further their studies while still serving. He completed his law degree at Cave Hill in Barbados before attending the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad. On completion of his law studies he served for some time in the army’s legal services department, where he was the Commanding Officer and where he did some prosecution work.
After twenty-three years in the Guyana Defence Force and another 15 years as a lawyer in private practice, Mr. Harmon remained an active politician and was a new face in the Tenth Sitting of the National Assembly, serving as APNU’s Shadow Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure.
In his early days, Mr. Harmon was a member of the Young Socialist Movement (YSM), the youth arm of the PNC, and at one time he was the Chairman of the Pouderoyen YSM group. He later became a Member of the Regional Executive of the movement. During his army days, Mr. Harmon ‘eased up’ in his involvement in politics, but by 2010, he resumed ‘full scale politics and was the Returning Officer for the elections at the Party’s Biennial Congresses.
Mr. Harmon is married with six children.
Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, Minister of Education
Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine born on January 31, 1943 in Kitty, Georgetown is the father of Dr. Terry Roopnaraine and Alicia Roopnaraine. He is a world class professor and instructor of liberal arts who has lectured at some of the most prestigious universities and learning institutions around the world. He is no stranger to Guyana’s politics and the struggles of the working class people of this country.
He has been in the front line of the national political movement since 1977 as one of the elite leaders of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA). He served as a Member of the Faculty of the University of Guyana from 1976 to 1990 and as a Member of Parliament for a number of years. He brought to the leadership of A Partnership for National Unity (A.P.N.U) his vast political experience and the WPA’s unwavering commitment to the building of a Guyana of social justice and racial harmony.
He was educated at Queen’s College (Guyana), Cambridge University (UK), and Cornell University (New York, USA), and holds a Doctorate in Comparative Literature.
Dr. Roopnaraine was part of APNU’s Shadow Cabinet in the Tenth Parliament, holding the portfolio of Agriculture and Environment.
As Minister of Education, he is well equipped with expertise, experience and education to significantly impact his assigned sector in Guyana.
Mr. Basil Williams, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs
Mr. Basil Williams was privileged to begin his Public Service career as a young lawyer and as one of the Legal Advisors of the late Founder Leader of the People’s National Congress (PNC). Later, he was to become Legal Assistant to then President Hoyte, from 1985-1988. While in the Office of the President, he became intimately familiar with the politics of the PNC and the machinery of the Party. He did go on to become a Vice-Chairman of the Party and a member of the Central Executive Committee. Mr. Williams is also Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Party and was a member of the Joint Task Force on Local Government Reform.
Mr. Williams holds an LLB (Hons.) Degree from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus and a Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School, Trinidad and Tobago.
He has served in different capacities in the public domain, including representing Guyana at the 6th Meeting of the Conference of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community in 1985; City Councillor from 1986-1988 and Secretary of the Review Committee of the Companies Act, 1986-1988.
Mr. Williams entered Parliament in 2003 and served in the Tenth Parliament of Guyana as APNU’s Shadow Minister of Legal Affairs and Justice.
Dr. George Norton, Minister of Public Health
Dr. George Norton is an Ophthalmologist by profession. He was educated in the Republic of Cuba, where he graduated with a Degree in Medicine from the Superior Institute of Medical Science in 1984 and specialised in Ophthalmology in 1988. Dr. Norton is a Consulting Ophthalmologist and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Guyana.
Dr. Norton was one of the Vice Chairpersons of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and a member of the Central Executive Committee. He was also the Party Director of Hinterland Affairs. He takes a special interest in sports, youth and culture, and is strong in advocating the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples.
Dr. Norton entered Parliament in 2001 and has been a vibrant representative of Amerindian communities throughout Guyana. He served in the Tenth Parliament of Guyana as APNU’s Shadow Minister of Public Health and Disease Control.
Mr. Carl Barrington Greenidge, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Carl Barrington Greenidge was born in New Amsterdam, Berbice and attended New Amsterdam Congregational School, first spending a few months at the Malteenoes Branch of Tutorial. He then attended Berbice High School, until he left for the United Kingdom to further his education.
Mr.Greenidge is a former Minister of Finance, Planning and Trade of Guyana. He has extensive experience at the policy, management and technical levels, and has worked on public sector economics and agricultural policies, as well as international trade and finance. He has provided distinguished service to his country, the Caribbean and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States. That service has been in the design and management of Guyana’s Economic Recovery Programme (1988-1992) and the negotiation of the unique north-south cooperation compact, the Lomé Convention, inter alia. This latter pact was aimed at alleviating the burden of poverty in the ACP regions which include the most trade dependent countries in the world and countries for which agriculture is dominant. He has successfully headed two joint ACP-EU funded institutions devoted to development and cooperation, and has, in the process, sat on both ‘sides’ of the Donor-Recipient interface.
Mr. Greenidge has also published four monographs, numerous academic articles on economics, and contributed to books on a variety of issues, including the political economy of agricultural modernisation, international agricultural trade negotiations and marine fisheries. He has been Co-President of the Joint Council of Ministers of the European Union and the ACP States.
Mr. Carl Greenidge is a member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and served in the Tenth Parliament of Guyana as APNU’s Shadow Minister of Finance and International Economic Co-operation.
Ms.Volda Lawrence, Minister of Social Protection
Ms Volda Lawrence is an accountant by profession. She has a Degree in Accounting from the University of Guyana and a Master’s Degree from Gloucester University, England and is a Certified Chartered Accountant (ACCA Level II). Ms. Lawrence was employed by the American School in this capacity.
Ms. Lawrence is a member of the Central Executive Committee of the PNCR. She headed the Human Services and Welfare Department of the Party. She has done and continues to do sterling work among the elderly and with families who have encountered misfortune. She served in the Tenth Parliament of Guyana as APNU’s Shadow Minister of Human Services and Social Protection.
Mr. Ronald Azam Bulkan, Minister of Communities
Mr. Ronald Bulkan is the fifth of seven children of Rehannah Bulkan and the late George Bulkan, both of whom were school teachers. Born in Supenaam on the Essequibo Coast, he is a product of rural Guyana, though not exclusively so. He attended St. Phillips Nursery, Bush Lot Primary, Yakusari Govt., Massiah Govt., Dolphin Govt. and Queen’s College schools. He has spent his entire life in Guyana, except for a nine – month period in 1979/80, when he lived in the USA while attending the University of Houston.
Mr. Bulkan is a co-founder (1983) of Precision Woodworking Limited, a pioneering company in value added processing in the wood-sector in Guyana. Mr. Bulkan and Precision were awarded the coveted Ernst and Young Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year title in 2001, to date, the only Guyanese company to earn this accolade. He subsequently was inducted to the World Entrepreneur of the Year Academy in Monte Carlo in June 2002.
Although a businessman, Mr. Bulkan is no stranger to social and political activism. He belonged to the Guyana Human Rights Association (and was a member of the Elections Monitoring Committee in the pre-1992 period). An extension of this saw his being a part of the GUARD movement and he spoke on the platform, both in Georgetown and on the Corentyne.
He proudly recalls organising a picketing exercise (together with Ian Lye) in 1992 against S.S Ramphal outside the Hotel Tower, when Ramphal was here spearheading hearings of the West Indian Commission. The exercise was meant to highlight the call for regional and international pressure to restore democratic elections and it was joined by the PPP, whose members that day included the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan and Mr. Harripersaud Nokta. He was a candidate at the 1997 General Elections for the Working People’s Alliance.
The organisations to which he belonged are the Queen’s College Cadet Corps, GHRA, WPA and the PNC. He counts among his heroes Nehru, Gandhi, Norman Manley, Martin Luther King, Mandela, Eusi Kwayana, Desmond Hoyte and Muhammed Ali.
Mr. Bulkan prays at the Redeemer Lutheran Church but is comfortable in any place of worship. He is married to Sattie and together they have two children, George & Nadia.
Mr Sydney Allicock, Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs
Mr. Sydney Allicock, is from the North Rupununi, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Region Nine, and is widely accepted as a pioneer of community-based tourism in Guyana. He was Public and Civic Contributions 2010 Laureate and is well qualified to represent the Indigenous people of Guyana. Mr. Allicock is a representative of the Guyana Action Party (GAP) in the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
He has articulated and promoted a vision of indigenous rural community development, based on communal effort, wise use of natural resources, traditional knowledge and social systems, and equitable partnership with outside agencies. He has been a key figure in the development over the past two decades of the village of Surama, the North Rupununi region more widely, and Guyana’s indigenous communities, which account for nearly a tenth of the country’s population.
As a former Toshao of Annai, Mr. Allicock pioneered celebrations for Amerindian Heritage Day which were later adopted as a national event by the Guyana Government. Now Amerindian Heritage Day is celebrated in a different village each year, bringing both investment and national attention to indigenous communities around Guyana.
Mr. Allicock is one of the Iwokrama Centre’s key tutors for its Training Services Centre, where he has helped train hundreds of young Guyanese, mostly from indigenous communities, in leadership, survival skills, and eco-tourism development. His writing has been published in the distinguished literary journal Kyk-Over-Al.
Mr. Allicock served in the Tenth Parliament of Guyana, with responsibilities for Local Government and Hinterland Development.
Mr. David Patterson, Minister of Public Infrastructure
Mr David Patterson was born on May 4, 1967 in Georgetown and received his early education at St. Gabriel Primary School and St. Stanislaus College. He studied at the Greenwich University (UK) and graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Quantity Surveying. He is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, Real Estate Appraiser and Project Manager. Mr. Patterson has over 25 years’ experience of providing quantity surveying, project management and appraisal services to both public and private sector clients in the United Kingdom, Guyana and the Caribbean.
He is a member of the Royal Institutions of Chartered Surveyors, and the Architecture and Surveying Institute
He is a member of the AFC and served as a Member of Parliament (2006-2011), and as the party’s General Secretary from 2012 to 2015
Other positions held by Mr. Patterson include: Past president of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation, Past President of the Georgetown Dominoes Association and Past President of the Rotary Club of Demerara.
He is a Paul Harris Fellow (Rotary Foundation).
Mrs. Catherine Hughes, Minister of Tourism
Catherine Andrea Hughes is a Media Specialist with extensive knowledge of the Caribbean media and advertising environment. She is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) degree in Mass Communications.
Mrs. Hughes has worked at media bodies in the Caribbean and internationally for more than 20 years, having served as a news reporter for the Caribbean News Agency and with the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) as a television producer. She was part of the BBC’s Radio Merseyside team as a freelance reporter.
Upon her return to Guyana in 1993, she started a company, Videomega Productions. Other positions she held include; former president of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), and a member of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union and the Caribbean Media Corporation.
She firmly believes that Guyana needs an "entire public relations" campaign as the country is still unknown to many parts of the world. More than that, Ms. Hughes wants the country to provide adequate training for those securing a career in the Tourism industry.
Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan, 2nd Vice President & Minister of Public Security
Attorney at Law and Co-founder of the Alliance for Change, Mr. Ramjattan first became a member of the National Assembly in 1992.
Introduction to politics for Mr. Ramjattan was through the People’s Progressive Party, where he ascended through the ranks, from being leader of its youth section (PYO) to the position of member of that party’s Central Committee. However, his futuristic way of thinking, probing mind and true commitment to democracy at all levels, including at the level of internal party arrangements, brought him into conflict with the old dogmatists of the PPP/C. It was his vision for a new and progressive political dispensation in Guyana that led him to the formation of the Alliance For Change in 2005, the party he founded with Raphael Trotman and Sheila Holder.
He has been a Member of Parliament since October 1992, serving as a Member of the Public Accounts Committee in 2001-2004, and in a number of other Parliamentary Committees. He has fearlessly and objectively represented his views on numerous issues, some highly politically sensitive, all in his quest for a better Guyana. His advocacy in many high profile human rights cases has given him prominence and stature in Guyana’s legal fraternity.
He successfully participated in the British Council’s Young Lawyers Commonwealth Scholarship Programme in 1992 at the University of London. He is a former Editor of the Guyana Bar Review.
Mr. Winston DaCosta Jordan, MP. Minister of Finance
Winston DaCosta Jordan is a former Head of the Budget Office of the Ministry of Finance. His stellar academic pedigree allows for confidence building, where Guyana’s economy is concerned: University of Warwick, UK-MA (Economics); University of Guyana-B.Scs. (Distinction) (Economics); Penn State University, USA-Certificate in Budgeting & Structural Adjustment; Harvard University, USA- Certificate in Public Sector Budgeting.
Not the armchair theoretician, Mr. Jordan has been in his field and has accumulated valuable experience as a Practising Economist: 2009-2015-Country Analyst, Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU); 2006 (February)-2008 (June)-Technical Coordinator, Public Management Modernisation Programme (IDB), Ministry of Finance; 1998 (August)-2007 (May)-Budget/Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance; 1997 (April)-1998 (July)-Budget Specialist, Office of the Budget, Ministry of Finance; 1995 (July)-1997 (March)- Adviser in Budgeting, Ministry of Finance; 1995 (January-May)-Budgeting and Public Investment Specialist, Ministry of Finance; 1985 (June)-1994 (August)-Director, Office of the Budget, Ministry of Finance; 1984 (October)-1985 (June)-Senior Planner, State Planning Secretariat; 1981 (October)-1984 (October)-Planner, State Planning Secretariat.
The minister utilised his education and expertise in teaching intermittently at the University of Guyana. He served also as Director of (GAIBANK), 1987-92; Bauxite Development Company Limited (BIDCO), 1987-2003; Guyana Cooperative Financial Service (GCFS), 1997-2005; Alternate Director, Caribbean Development Bank, 1986-92; Temporary Governor and Alternate Governor to the IDB, CDB and the IMF/World Bank Group.
This kind of distinguished background was recognised and well rewarded as Mr. Jordan deservedly copped a number of honours and awards: University of Guyana Vice Chancellor’s Special Award; Commonwealth Scholarship; UNDP Fellowship; and Hubert H Humphrey Fellowship.
He is married to Charmaine Atkinson-Jordan and the couple are the parents of Jo-Anne Milner, Darren Jordan and Yanic Jordan.
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