…to appoint staff for permanent secretariat
PRESIDENT David Granger has directed that a permanent National Task Force Secretariat be established to manage the campaign and ensure long-term preventive measures against COVID-19.
The directive was given on Friday during a meeting of the National Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Task Force (NCTF). At the meeting, he appointed Director- General of the Ministry of the Presidency (MoTP), Joseph Harmon to carry out the functions of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NCTF.
It is under the general or specific directions of the Chairman of the NCTF, Prime Minister Moses Nagamoootoo, that the CEO will establish a permanent National Task Force Secretariat. The CEO must also assign permanent staff to manage the national campaign; create preventive measures against the disease to safeguard citizens’ health and collaborate with regional task forces and stakeholders to safeguard citizens’ health.
Harmon will be responsible, under the direction of the Chair, for directing the NCTF operations and restarting interrupted activities; all important logistical measures necessary to prevent the disease from spreading further, directing rapid responses to unexpected and emergency incidents; developing short-term plans for disease prevention and safety of the people; communicating directly with agencies, ministries, regional task forces, agencies and stakeholders and disseminating accurate information with regard to COVID-19 to the public.
The President said that the changes were made as a means to strengthen the task force. “The Head of State iterated that efforts are being made continuously to strengthen the NCTF to the fight against the dreaded COVID-19. He gave the assurance that the task force and the Ministry of Public Health are working assiduously to overcome the challenges posed by COVID-19,” a release from the MoTP stated.
Added to this, he announced that Senior Executive Director of the Bertram Collins College of the Public Service, Colonel (ret’d) Lawrence Paul has been seconded to the NCTF and Consultant Dr. Mark Kirton will assume Colonel Paul’s post.
Meanwhile, Director, Public Information and Press Service (PIPS) Unit of the MoTP, Mark Archer, has relinquished his appointment and will work with the NCTF on a full-time basis. Ariana Gordon will now assume the post of Director of the Public Information and Press Service (PIPS) Unit effective April 25, 2020.
The NCTF was established by President Granger in March 2020 to better coordinate government’s action plan in response to the presence of the coronavirus in Guyana.
It is headed by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and also includes Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence; Minister of Education, Dr. Nicolette Henry; Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan; Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams SC; Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson; Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan and Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix.
Meanwhile, a team of medical professionals which includes Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, Chief Medical Officer; Dr. Karen Boyle-Campbell, Deputy Chief Medical Officer; Ms. Collette Adams, Permanent Secretary, MoPH; Dr. Fawcett Jeffrey, Director of Medical and Professional Services, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and Dr. Tracey Bovell, Mass Casualty Specialist at GPHC, as well as Dr. William Adu-Krow, PAHO-WHO’s Country Representative in Guyana, will work to provide an insight to the NCTF on containment of the virus.
