Jagdeo sworn in as Prime Minister
PRESIDENT Janet Jagan yesterday appointed Finance Minister, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo as Prime Minister as the second step to him taking up the post of Head-of-State tomorrow. During remarks at the brief ceremony in the Credentials Room of the Office of the President, the Guyanese leader declared that there is the "greatest solidarity and cohesion" in the transfer of power to the new Prime Minister. According to the President, the "A" team formula of herself, former Prime Minister Sam Hinds and Jagdeo, was just as they presented themselves to the electorate for the 1997 polls. "We haven't changed except maybe a little more battered and a little wiser...but we're here as a team representing the PPP/Civic (People's Progressive Party/Civic)," Mrs. Jagan assured. She said when the new President is appointed it will be a proud moment for the country, since it will make another mark in history for this part of the world. Jagdeo, 35, when he takes up the Presidency, will be the youngest Head-of-State in the western hemisphere. His 29-year-old wife Uma is expected in for tomorrow's swearing-in ceremony, the President said. She is in London pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Economics at the Open University. Under the Constitution, the Prime Minister is next in line if the President resigns. But the governing PPP/Civic alliance has an arrangement under which the PPP gets the Presidency and the Civic component is given the prime ministerial position. Hinds therefore resigned to allow for Jagdeo's appointment, but he will be renamed after Jagdeo assumes the Presidency. The President said in an address to the nation Sunday it is important that the country be led by people who have the wisdom and know what is best in the interest of the country. She has assured that she will be around to assist in whatever way possible. Meanwhile, General Secretary of the PPP, Mr. Donald Ramotar in an interview after the swearing-in, said Mrs. Jagan will remain in the leadership structure of the party. But he said her giving up the post which Jagdeo is to assume reflects the "resilience" and "depth" of the party. "The fact that we have leadership to offer with the changing times...(shows) that the party has the capacity to give the Guyanese people that leadership," the Executive member of the main arm of the governing PPP/Civic alliance said. Ramotar explained that Jagdeo has not been the guaranteed Presidential candidate for the expected 2001 elections, because the party is pursuing a style of collective leadership and decision making. In keeping with this, Ramotar reminded that in 1970, the PPP abolished the formula of "leader of the party." Cabinet Ministers and several Members of Parliament from the Government benches attended the prime ministerial swearing-in ceremony. (MICHELLE ELPHAGE)
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