THE public set out to wish Guyana the best in New Year posts across social media. The past few months have been a time of transitioning, a time of rebranding and renewed hope for the country. Persons recapped all the changes — welcomed or otherwise — that occurred in the past year; most of all, the change in government which brought with it its own conflicts, but which also saw Guyana receiving many needed improvements.

While all is still not where we want it to be, persons are hopeful that, in the coming year, the momentum of change will continue and the questions that have been posed regarding pertinent issues will be answered.

Shuffling the deck
As the year comes to a close, President Granger is set to do some reshuffling of his ministers, and the public has mixed feelings about it. Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Simona Broomes, is being swept across to the Ministry of Natural Resources. Minister Keith Scott, from the Ministry of Communities, will take Broomes’s place; while Region 10 MP Valerie Sharpe-Patterson will be sworn in as Minister within the Ministry of Communities, taking Scott’s place.

Reports are that Broomes began to feel a bit too empowered, much to the chagrin of her superior Minister, Volda Lawrence, who had before warned her of her behaviour. Yet, on the other side of things, persons have viewed Broomes’s work in the labour sector as impressive.

A few important questions have been posed by the public: Was Broomes doing so well that Volda felt threatened? If Keith Scott was functioning at sloth’s pace in his last ministry (according to reports), what would make him go any faster in another? Could it be that the President is making a mistake? As in all things, we will just have to wait and see, as President Granger seems to be the man with the plan.

Safe – for now
Though calls have been made for GPL CEO Colin Welch to be sent on leave pending an investigation into irregularities regarding the procurement of prepaid meters, Infrastructure Minister David Patterson has said he saw no reason to do so, stating that Welch would not impede the investigation. Well, not everyone is happy about that, especially since Welch’s wrongdoings were blatantly revealed to the public via leaked conversations. But the minister states that such a move is dependent on the type of investigation being carried out, and this type apparently does not warrant it. So, while we may believe that Welch deserves some good time-off, like Brassington (allegedly) and Kurshid received, it looks like he’s safe for now. But the year is fresh, there’s plenty of time to look on and see how this will go; the people need not worry.

Here’s to ringing in the New Year with peace of mind!