Daryl Vaz returned to work at his old office at Jamaica House, shortly after he was sworn in at an official ceremony at King's House in St Andrew last Wednesday. Vaz was sworn in for the second time as minister of state in the Office of the Prime Minister. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer
Recently elected member of parliament for West Portland, Daryl Vaz, got back to work Wednesday, minutes after he was sworn in as minister of state in the Office of the Prime Minister.
"A lot has piled up in the three weeks and I want to get those cleared and then get back on to the thing," Vaz told The Gleaner while in his office at Jamaica House, minutes after he took the oath of office at King's House.
"The truth of the matter is that all of the items on my desk are important because everybody's business is important to them but there are some that are more urgent, including some subdivisions," Vaz added while making reference to the court of appeal court ruling which upheld a decision by the chief justice that he was not eligible to sit in Parliament because of his United States citizenship at the time of the 2007 general election.
Successful run
Having renounced his United States citizenship and successfully contested the rerun of the West Portland election on a Jamaica Labour Party ticket, Vaz was sworn in as a member of parliament on Tuesday.
Last Wednesday Prime Minis-ter Bruce Golding appointed Vaz a state minister, paving the way for him to be sworn in by Governor General Dr Patrick Allen.
"We had at no time countenanced proceeding with Government without him. We know we had to bear the interruption, but I'm particularly delighted to have him back in Government," Golding declared while addressing the swearing-in ceremony.
Man of action
According to Golding, Vaz served extremely well in the post of state minister in the period between the 2007 election and the appeal court's ruling.
"Daryl is a doer. He is an action person. He is somebody who believes that missions are there to be accomplished, jobs are there to be done and tasks are there to be ticked off. He is someone that doesn't need to be prodded, if anything, he is like a raging bronco who needs to be restrained at times," Golding added.
Vaz whipped the People's National Party's Kenneth Rowe by more than 2,000 votes in the March 23 by-election to ensure a return to the House of Representatives and a place in the Golding administration.