Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2006 14:13 UTC
Wikileak Viewing cable 06GEORGETOWN925, PARTY POLITICS, PERSONAL LOYALTY KEY IN CABINET
Manzoor Nadir, leader of the minor party The United Force (TUF) took over as Minister of Labour. As Minister of Tourism, Commerce, and Industry, the impoverished Nadir mysteriously became well off. He is Jagdeo's only cross-party appointee.
Shaik Baksh, the former Minister of Housing and Water, is
now Minister of Education. He has sat for the PPP in the
National Assembly since 1992. Rumors of corruption associated
with the allocation of house lots during his tenure as
Minister of Housing circulate widely, including among PPP
insiders.
--Priya Manickchand, an attorney and legal consultant to
Jagdeo, was named Minister of Human Services and Social
Security, taking over from a discredited Bibi Shadick. Her
portfolio is expected to include Trafficking in Persons
issues. Manickchand has worked for the Georgetown Legal Aid
Clinic, a USAID-funded initiative. There are quiet rumors
that she is romantically involved with Jagdeo.
-Manniram Prashad, a businessman and former presidential
advisor on investment matters, will be Minister of Tourism,
Industry, and Commerce. Prashad owned a struggling travel
and eco-tourism agency and has served as President of the
Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Private
Sector Commission (PSC). He advocates foreign direct
investment, though as Investment Advisor to the President he
was widely suspected of benefiting personally from government
contracts and foreign investment concessions.
Ambassador Robinsonβs comments
Guyana's political future will depend on whether
Jagdeo demands honesty and real governance reforms from his
ministers-or just political fidelity. As the U.S. and the
international community push for post-election change, Jagdeo
and the PPP government will have little incentive to overhaul
the system they so effectively control.