Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton on Thursday defended his recent decision to reshuffle the persons shadowing various government portfolios. He assured this is intended to bolster the efficiency of the opposition’s participation in parliament.
Norton explained that from the moment he became the Leader of the Opposition, he had been reviewing changes that can be made to the portfolios of his parliamentarians.
He was keen to outline that notions suggesting he did not engage his colleagues before making the decision are false.
“In fact, at the last budget we identified areas, that even though some people are not a shadow minister they also cover,” Norton underscored as he explained that his decision is not one that was made overnight.
Norton told reporters that his decision to remove Geeta Chandan-Edmond from the Home Affairs portfolio and have it represented by Khemraj Ramjattan, took into account that he previously served as Minister of Public Security. Chandan-Edmond will now follow the governance portfolio, while Ramjattan’s agriculture portfolio was given to Vinceroy Jordon.
The Opposition Leader also explained that despite the changes in the portfolios, the MPs will still be able to speak on issues regarding their previous posts.
“But it gives us the opportunity to bring more institutional knowledge…” Norton said.
As for Jermaine Figueira, his Culture, Youth and Sport portfolio was given to Nima Flue-Bess; Natasha Singh-Lewis was reassigned from the education portfolio to social services, and as Coretta McDonald, an executive of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) will now handle the education sector.
Guyana Standard understands that McDonald’s labour portfolio was given to Dineshwar Jaiprashad. Meanwhile, Opposition Chief Whip, Christopher Jones will be shadowing the parliamentary affairs portfolio.
Moreover, David Patterson of the Alliance For Change (AFC) was moved from handling oil and gas to infrastructure. Natural Resources, including the petroleum sector, will now be handled by Shurwayne Holder.
