Junior Finance Minister Jaipaul Sharma has been removed from that ministry and will now be working under Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson.
In a statement on Facebook this morning (June 15, 2019), Sharma confirmed his reshuffling saying that this new appointment will allow him to assist in the development of “much-needed infrastructures”.
The new role will take effect from July 1, 2019.
Minister Patterson also took to his social media account late Friday to welcome Sharma, whom he said will provide support to the ministry.
This move comes just over a month after President David Granger reshuffled his Cabinet following the January ruling of Chief Justice, Roxanne George, that it is illegal for persons with a second citizenship to serve in the National Assembly. This decision was upheld in the Appeal Court in March.
As such, senior Government Ministers namely: Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; Business Minister, Dominic Gaskin; Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge and Public Service Minister, Rupert Roopnarine were also forced to resign from Cabinet and the National Assembly as a result of their dual citizenship status.
Former Junior Public Health Minister, Karen Cummings, was sworn-in as the new Foreign Affairs Minister alongside the newly recruited Minister of State, Dawn Hastings-Williams; Business Minister, Haimraj Rajkumar; and Public Service Minister, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley.
These changes also saw a reshuffling of Junior Ministers, with Annette Ferguson and Simona Charles-Broomes being transferred from the Ministries of Public Infrastructure and Natural Resources respectively.
Minister Ferguson was appointed Housing Minister within the Communities Ministry, while Minister Broomes holds the mantle for Youth Affairs within the Ministry of the Presidency.
Meanwhile, former Housing Minister Valerie Patterson-Yearwood was also reassigned as Minister of Rural Affairs within the Agriculture Ministry.
