Sonia Parag named substantive Local Government Minister

– Dr Ashni Singh to oversee operations of Public Service Ministry

Public Service Minister Sonia Parag will take up the post as substantiative Local Government and Regional Development Minister in the coming days. This was announced by President Dr Irfaan Ali on Tuesday on his Facebook page.
According to the Head of State, Minister Parag will be assisted by Minister Anand Persaud, who has been acting in that position since the resignation of former embattled Local Government Minister, Nigel Dharamlall.
In addition, the Public Service Ministry which was headed by Minister Parag will now fall under the ambit of Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh out of the Office of the President.

Back in July 2023, Former Regional Vice Chairperson for Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Nandranie Coonjah replaced Dharamlall as a parliamentarian. Coonjah, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Region Two candidate and a longstanding Commissioner on the Women and Gender Equality Commission, was selected after the party wrote to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to extract her name from the geographic list of candidates.
Before this development, Dharamlall resigned as both a Minister and Member of Parliament (MP).
It was announced on July 4, 2023, that Dharamlall had resigned, following allegations of rape that were levelled against him. Subsequently, however, the complainant declined to pursue the matter. The victim had given a “no further action statement” to investigators in the presence of one of her parents and a representative of the Child Care and Protection Agency.
This had led to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali Hack, SC, advising the Police not to proceed with the case. The DPP, in her advice, stated that the victim’s decision to withdraw the complaint was not influenced by anyone, and that same was done in her best interest.