–says not bothered or intimidated by noise or chatter

EDUCATION Minister Nicolette Henry has called on all critics to assess her by performance as she rubbished questions of her suitability for the post.
Henry was first appointed two years ago by President David Granger as minister within the Ministry of Education, with specific oversight for the departments of Youth, Sport and Culture.

However, merely weeks ago, the minister was asked to take on the senior role of Minister of Education following the reassignment of Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine to the Ministry of the Public Service, a newly established ministry.
The move by the President sparked much debate on social media with many criticising Minister Henry’s management of the country’s 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations held last year May.

Despite the level of criticism, the minister told the Guyana Chronicle that she is unbothered. She asserted that she is qualified and suitable for the post after having served in senior positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the USA.
“I have always premised my tenure in any job on performance and I want to stick with performance. I am results oriented; I have worked with the Grade Six intervention, I’ve seen results. I don’t have any message for anybody, I don’t think it is a back and forth,” said Henry.

But while the minister feels it is not necessary for her to justify her suitability for the post, she said, “What I would like those people to tell me is what would be the training that is required for that position, because I come with advanced degrees, and I don’t know that people who are at PhD levels are second to any level in terms of intellectual capacity.”
Henry has a degree in Pharmacy, while her second undergraduate and post-graduate degrees are in public health. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in the same field.

“I’ve held very senior appointments and functioned well and have been the recipient of many accolades. I also function as the chair for the Global Fund at the Caribbean and the Country level and it has worked well. I’ve recently been re-elected at the country level unanimously,” the minister added.
Much of the criticism thrown at Henry stems from some glitches that occurred during the hosting of the country’s 50th independence anniversary celebrations.

However, the minister was adamant that she was asked by President Granger to manage the celebration after he had appointed another minister prior.
“I have never said this publicly, but I probably should say it now. In serving as the minister with responsibility for Guyana’s 50th independence anniversary, I was only assigned after the President had tasked a previous minister and then I came in at the back end. And notwithstanding the critics, if we didn’t have Nicolette Henry, guess what, it would not have happened,” said the former army officer who hails from New Amsterdam.

TECHNICAL CAPACITY
The former public health specialist for the CDC told the Guyana Chronicle that she was considered for a post within the APNU+AFC administration because of her technical capacity and noted that her “Biggest reason for working with the government is because I believe I have the type of expertise that is required to move Guyana forward.”
She said she entered politics at a time when there was a need for change and based on the success she has had internationally, she felt she could contribute significantly.
“I felt that if I could replicate or bring some of that to bear, we would begin to see results in the areas I would be responsible for and contribute in large ways.”

That aside, Henry said she believes a great deal in service to country and noted that her efforts to give back to Guyana started before she turned 25 years old. The minister explained that she was commanding and serving her country in uniform, a task she considers to be “the ultimate service.”
Her roles have not changed her from her humble beginning and noted that “I have always had my feet on the ground and my head not quite in the air, but I have been working quietly trying to move things forward. I believe in results speaking rather than you beginning to get up and say what you do…your programmes should be able to speak for themselves and demonstrate progress or lack of, so that you can take the appropriate steps to move them forward if needs be.”

Guyana, she said, needs solid programmes and intervention and given her expertise globally, she believed that she could give back to her own country to ensure that they become a reality.

FOR FREE ANY DAY
“I would do it for my country free any day and I believe it is about service,” remarked Henry, who said she was pleased to have led the Departments of Youth, Sport and Culture as well as being able to manage the 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations, which allowed her to operate from a programmatic and project perspective.

“We’ve had a very short timeline to get that done and limited financial and human resource and we were able to complete each and every one of the events and the deliverables we set out to. Even in the face of negative press and criticisms, we were able to execute 130 events. I did receive a plethora of compliments, particularly from the international and diplomatic community,” she said of the country’s jubilee celebrations.
The Minister of Education was quick to note that all she has achieved over the two years cannot be looked at in isolation from her staff, many of whom she said are committed, “notwithstanding all the mischief around us.”

Prior to being appointed Minister in the APNU+AFC administration, Henry served as an officer commanding the medical corps of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
In 2005, she was appointed programme development specialist with the CDC which looked at a heavily funded programme called the Rapid Strengthening of Blood Transfusion Services.

Under that portfolio, she was responsible for providing programmatic oversight for the about US$2B project. Some two years after, Henry became a public health specialist. She was responsible for the adolescent programmes, safe water, the Ambassador’s Grant, the prevention of mother-to-child transmission and HIV prevention and served as the technical lead on gender issues, which placed emphasis on male medical circumcision and the gamut of prevention issues which affected public health from an HIV perspective.
In November 2014, Henry opted to serve as an international consultant for eight Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) through a U.S. government-funded project where she looked at the transition of programmes from donor funding to local funding and sustainability.

As a consultant for the NGOs, she participated in meetings, conferences and assignments in over 50 countries.
Henry likes to be referred to as a behavioural scientist with expertise in programme management and evaluation of programmes in public health, but at the policy level which allows her to transform and transition into any other area that requires a programmatic or policy directive.

“That’s my core competency,” the minister added, noting that the health and education sectors are very similar in many regards as well as culture, thereby making her transition from public health to education very easy.

Additionally, Henry believes that her strong personality has presented several challenges over the years and continues to do so in her portfolio as minister.
“The other challenge is that I call things as I see them; I am not afraid to call it as I see it. I am not intimidated by noise or chatter; it doesn’t intimidate me for one second,” asserted the minister.