Georgetown: After being sworn in as Guyana’s ninth Executive President, Dr. Irfaan Ali appointed Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo as his Vice President tasking him with heading the Government’s transition team while other members were sworn in as members of the transition team.
These members included Prime Minister: Brigadier (rt’d) Mark Phillips; Attorney General Anil Nandlall and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira.
President Ali in brief remarks after the swearing-in ceremony at the Conference Center revealed that he will announce his full cabinet at his inauguration ceremony which will take place sometime this week.
President Ali said he will detail the way forward for Guyana at that ceremony.
Dr Ali brings to the presidency a long and diverse experience at all levels of government.
He previously served as a government minister under the PPP/C, with responsibilities for major sectors like housing, tourism and commerce. Specifically, he served as Minister of Housing and Water and Minister of Tourism Industry and Commerce.
During his tenure as Minister of Housing, he conceptualised and implemented the largest and most extensive housing drive in the country’s history, under-girded by a massive house lot distribution to citizens from all strata and geographic regions.
The 40-year-old politician also has a wealth of parliamentary experience; he became a Member of Parliament in 2006 and during the last National Assembly, he chaired one of the most important committees; the Public Accounts Committee which is responsible for examining public expenditure.
Ali was born in Leonora, West Coast Demerara (WCD)/ He attended St Stanislaus College and has been a member of the PPP for over 20 years, starting at the Party’s youth arm. He recently was awarded a PhD in of Philosophy in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the West Indies at St Augustine, Trinidad. He has also been a part of the leadership for 15 years, during which time he held the position of Finance Secretary for several years.
In his professional experience before he became a Minister, Ali worked as an economic planner, also chairing a Project Steering Committee on the Low-Income Settlement Committee.
He also worked as the National Programme Coordinator of local Caribbean Development Bank funded programmes. When he did become a Minister in 2009, he went on to serve in the Cabinet for seven years.
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