…Minister Ally settles in at Social Protection Ministry

THOUGH the task is enormous, newly appointed Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, maintains that it is not too much to handle.
Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Friday, Minister Ally outlined her areas of focus, along with the work programme for her ministry, which encompasses many sectors, including labour.

Ally also serves as the Government’s Chief Whip in the National Assembly; Assistant General-Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Chief Scrutineer at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for the APNU+AFC and even continues to manage President David Granger’s 5Bs initiative.
“I can cope; I am a strong woman… it is not too much,” she asserted, while noting that the best way to overcome challenges is by networking.

She does not micro-manage and believes that by networking more would be accomplished.
Although she is going through a familiarisation phase, Minister Ally has a clear vision of the direction in which she wants her ministry to go.
She explained that the move by President David Granger to make shifts in his Cabinet and more so, remove her from the Ministry of Social Cohesion to the Ministry of Social Protection, was unexpected.

“I accept all the challenges; this ministry is by far larger than Social Cohesion and I have to focus my mind on many areas, including child protection, domestic violence, the elderly, youth empowerment, sexual abuse, trafficking in persons, Old Age Pension and the list goes on.”
Since being relocated, the minister said she has been able to observe the overwhelming number of persons who visit the Difficult Circumstances Unit of the ministry. She believes that through her ministry, the lives of many Guyanese would be made better.
“I intend to visit all of the areas and I have started meeting with all of the Heads of Department to get an understanding of how they work and the programmes they intend to execute.”

ADDRESS FRONTALLY
The minister recognised that the Labour Department has its hands full with the plethora of issues before it, but noted that the challenges facing that sector will be addressed frontally.
“I will spend lots of time addressing the labour issues and I want to adopt an approach where we [the ministry and the unions], can work together on labour matters,” she said, while adding that she will be meeting with union representatives soon.
“I intend to meet with [them] so we can talk and collaborate on the way forward,” Minister Ally said.
When asked whether she will lobby President Granger to meet with the unions via a request made when he took office in 2015, Minister Ally said, “The President has his own agenda and I cannot speak to that, but I as the minister must reach out to them… I will reach out and have a meeting.”
She also made it clear that all aspects of social protection deserve attention and vows to “tackle all of them at the same time.”
Minister Ally is very optimistic that she will be successful in her endeavours to provide quality service to the people of Guyana through her ministry.
She said it is impossible for her to do it alone and is looking forward to collaborating with all stakeholders.
Speaking specifically to her 2017 budgetary allocations, Minister Ally said while she may have new initiatives, she has to work within the budgetary allocations, but noted that in certain areas, such as youth empowerment, there is more room for developing new projects within the allocations provided.
“In the area of youth empowerment, you have to come up with your projects. I have started by interacting with the regions to see what are some of the things they would like to work on,” she told the Guyana Chronicle.
Some $16.6B was allocated to the Ministry of Social Protection in Budget 2017.