Less
than twenty-four hours after taking the oath of office as Prime Minister of
Jamaica for the second time, Portia Lucretia Simpson-Miller and her team of
forty-two incoming members of parliament once again gathered at King's House,
albeit on the inside this time for the naming and swearing-in of Jamaica's next
cabinet which she will lead.
Although in much smaller numbers than the over ten thousand strong that littered the state lawns on Thursday, there was more than a buzz of excitement as prominent citizens, members of civil society, high ranking party supporters, the media and general well-wishers streamed into the ballroom way in advance of the slated 11:00a.m. commencement. At a quarter to the hour, journalists were already reporting that the ballroom, built to accommodate two hundred guests was full and overflowing and several people could be seen standing against the walls and even more on the outside leading into the foyer and onto the portico.
Then came 11:00a.m...then came 11:30a.m...then came 12 noon! And even though by then, Simpson-Miller and all those expected to be sworn-in were in their respective places for the greater part of an hour - there was no sign of the Governor General or any public announcement or apology from the powers that be as reasons for to hold up. Needless to say, restless guests were now evidently impatient as this delay was bound to cut deeper into their lunchtime than had been predicted.
Apparently operating from a different time zone, His Excellency Sir Patrick accompanied by Lady Allen sauntered in at what would now be a whopping 80-plus minutes late. After a brief a capella rendition of the national anthem, pitched most unceremoniously by...you guessed it - the GG himself, the programme got under way. Clearly something was wrong in the state of Denmark. But of course, nothing would put a damper on the swearing-in of Sista P's cabinet and for the next hour we would labouriously watch twenty-seven people come and go repeating as though a nursery rhyme, the oath of office as ministers and state ministers; before crossing the floor one by one to receive their obligatory trademark hug and kiss from a glowing comrade leader.
And.......Yes! You heard me right - Simpson-Miller included, there are twenty ministers and seven state ministers in the new cabinet. Only the second largest in our nation's history since Michael Manley's twenty-three ministers in 1976. Then, as if to add insult to injury, having been put through the painful ordeal of hearing the two part oath a record twenty-six times in one day, the specific portfolio responsibilities were not disclosed then and there and we would have to wait another lifetime for an official announcement much later in the evening.
So as to not hold you any more in suspense, here are the portfolios:
Although in much smaller numbers than the over ten thousand strong that littered the state lawns on Thursday, there was more than a buzz of excitement as prominent citizens, members of civil society, high ranking party supporters, the media and general well-wishers streamed into the ballroom way in advance of the slated 11:00a.m. commencement. At a quarter to the hour, journalists were already reporting that the ballroom, built to accommodate two hundred guests was full and overflowing and several people could be seen standing against the walls and even more on the outside leading into the foyer and onto the portico.
Then came 11:00a.m...then came 11:30a.m...then came 12 noon! And even though by then, Simpson-Miller and all those expected to be sworn-in were in their respective places for the greater part of an hour - there was no sign of the Governor General or any public announcement or apology from the powers that be as reasons for to hold up. Needless to say, restless guests were now evidently impatient as this delay was bound to cut deeper into their lunchtime than had been predicted.
Apparently operating from a different time zone, His Excellency Sir Patrick accompanied by Lady Allen sauntered in at what would now be a whopping 80-plus minutes late. After a brief a capella rendition of the national anthem, pitched most unceremoniously by...you guessed it - the GG himself, the programme got under way. Clearly something was wrong in the state of Denmark. But of course, nothing would put a damper on the swearing-in of Sista P's cabinet and for the next hour we would labouriously watch twenty-seven people come and go repeating as though a nursery rhyme, the oath of office as ministers and state ministers; before crossing the floor one by one to receive their obligatory trademark hug and kiss from a glowing comrade leader.
And.......Yes! You heard me right - Simpson-Miller included, there are twenty ministers and seven state ministers in the new cabinet. Only the second largest in our nation's history since Michael Manley's twenty-three ministers in 1976. Then, as if to add insult to injury, having been put through the painful ordeal of hearing the two part oath a record twenty-six times in one day, the specific portfolio responsibilities were not disclosed then and there and we would have to wait another lifetime for an official announcement much later in the evening.
So as to not hold you any more in suspense, here are the portfolios:
• Prime Minister and Minister of Defence • Peter Phillips - Finance, Planning & the Public Service• AJ Nicholson - Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade• Peter Bunting - National Security• Ronald Thwaites - Education• Lisa Hanna - Youth and Culture• Robert Pickersgill - Water, Land, Environment & Climate Change• Fenton Ferguson - Health• Anthony Hylton - Industry, Investment & Commerce• Mark Golding - Justice• Derrick Kellier - Labour and Social Security• Noel Arscott - Local Government & Community Development• Omar Davies - Transport, Works & Housing• Wykeham McNeil - Tourism & Entertainment• Phillip Paulwell - Mining, Energy & ICT• Roger Clarke - Agriculture & Fisheries Portia Simpson Miller,
Ministers Without Portfolio
• Morais Guy - Transport, Works & Housing (Housing)• Sandrea Falconer - Office of the Prime Minister (Information)• Horace Dalley - Finance, Planning & Public Service (Public Service)• Natalie Neita-Headley - Office of the Prime Minister (Sports)
• Morais Guy - Transport, Works & Housing (Housing)• Sandrea Falconer - Office of the Prime Minister (Information)• Horace Dalley - Finance, Planning & Public Service (Public Service)• Natalie Neita-Headley - Office of the Prime Minister (Sports)
Ministers of State
• Arnaldo Brown - Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade• Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams - Industry, Investment & Commerce• Ian Hayles - Agriculture & Fisheries• Colin Fagan - Local Government & Community Development• Richard Azan - Transport, Works & Housing• Damion Crawford - Tourism & Entertainment• Julian Robinson - Mining, Energy & ICT• Luther Buchanan - Office of the Prime Minister
• Arnaldo Brown - Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade• Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams - Industry, Investment & Commerce• Ian Hayles - Agriculture & Fisheries• Colin Fagan - Local Government & Community Development• Richard Azan - Transport, Works & Housing• Damion Crawford - Tourism & Entertainment• Julian Robinson - Mining, Energy & ICT• Luther Buchanan - Office of the Prime Minister
Now, let me be very clear, I do not have a
problem with the size of the cabinet, but I do find it a bit ironic, amusing
even, that this comes on the heels of the very same Simpson-Miller being highly
critical of and almost scolding the former Bruce Golding led 18-member
cabinet... Styling it in dramatic fashion as - "a watnot".
Well, Knock Knock Mrs. Simpson-Miller, just in case you haven't realized...what
you have here is a pretty large break front! To be fair, one must call a spade
a spade; and this spade could easily be considered a shovel!
There has been extensive research and reports done on cabinet size worldwide and I agree firmly with the school of thought that there should be no fixed numbers to a cabinet and Prime Ministers should be free to adjust, add, minus, multiply and divide as he or she so sees fit in keeping with the needs, the projections, the expectations and the budget of the day. However, what I cannot ever agree with is tokenism, and this cabinet seems to be heavily ladened with quite a few rewards to old faithfuls and young cousins of the comrade leader.
A minister with responsibility for nothing but sports? Sports could have easily been placed with Tourism or with Youth & Culture, as it has been in the past.
Then there is the return of the old titans - AJ Nicholson and Roger Clarke. One cannot help but think that certainly these two appointments must be a regression of sorts, as these men have served in cabinets from as far back as the eighties.
Mark Golding, while being a trained attorney has made a sterling career for himself as an investment banker and business leader, would he not have been better utilized in Industry and Commerce or better yet, in Finance?
Since Nicholson had to be rewarded for staying the course, why not give him Justice? A portfolio with which he is all too familiar. Golding to Industry and Hylton, who has shadowed and acted as Foreign Affairs Minister for some time to that very ministry.
There has been extensive research and reports done on cabinet size worldwide and I agree firmly with the school of thought that there should be no fixed numbers to a cabinet and Prime Ministers should be free to adjust, add, minus, multiply and divide as he or she so sees fit in keeping with the needs, the projections, the expectations and the budget of the day. However, what I cannot ever agree with is tokenism, and this cabinet seems to be heavily ladened with quite a few rewards to old faithfuls and young cousins of the comrade leader.
A minister with responsibility for nothing but sports? Sports could have easily been placed with Tourism or with Youth & Culture, as it has been in the past.
Then there is the return of the old titans - AJ Nicholson and Roger Clarke. One cannot help but think that certainly these two appointments must be a regression of sorts, as these men have served in cabinets from as far back as the eighties.
Mark Golding, while being a trained attorney has made a sterling career for himself as an investment banker and business leader, would he not have been better utilized in Industry and Commerce or better yet, in Finance?
Since Nicholson had to be rewarded for staying the course, why not give him Justice? A portfolio with which he is all too familiar. Golding to Industry and Hylton, who has shadowed and acted as Foreign Affairs Minister for some time to that very ministry.
Youth, Sports and Culture was already a
waste of public funds under the JLP administration, as Youth could have easily
been paired with Education and Sports & Culture administered by Tourism.
Now one must agree that Lisa Hanna is deserving of a ministry, but I cannot
support the maintenance of this farce especially with the discipline of sports
taken away.
Then, there are all of three ministers in Transport, Works and Housing - Dr. Omar Davies and Dr. Morais Guy as full ministers, the latter with specific responsibility for Housing and Richard Azan as state minister. By all indications, this is not a "super-ministry" in its true sense, so the question here is - couldn't a minister and a state minister alone have done the trick?
Finance, Planning and the Public Service whiles staffed with two fairly competent men - Dr. Peter Phillips (seen by many as the de facto Deputy Prime Minister) and former Health Minister Horace Dalley, seems to lack the real technical competence that would be needed at a crucial time in our nation like this. Maybe this is where an extra minister without portfolio should have been wasted.
Now to Simpson-Miller's Office...with just Sports under Natalie Neita Headley's belt and Information with Falconer, I am at a genuine loss as to why the Prime Minister's Office would have to be staffed with a state minister, in the person of Luther Buchanan.. Certainly, Neita-Headley will have so much time on her hands when Sports is "out-of-season", that whatever Buchanan is being brought there to do, she and Falconer could more than straddle between the two of them.
That aside, many of those expected to take particular portfolios were so appointed and there were not any major surprises with probably the exception of the total absence of former general secretary and Simpson-Miller loyalist - Collin Campbell.
While we may have our differences on this new cabinet it is important that these members perform and stand firm by the mandate they have been given. The needs of this country are great and the people have placed a significant amount of trust in this administration. While it is evident that some of the members of this cabinet were rewarded because of loyalty and long service we expect that they will prove the naysayers wrong. I can only hope that they will perform above expectation, because in the end...PNP and JLP aside, the country will be the ultimate victor.
Then, there are all of three ministers in Transport, Works and Housing - Dr. Omar Davies and Dr. Morais Guy as full ministers, the latter with specific responsibility for Housing and Richard Azan as state minister. By all indications, this is not a "super-ministry" in its true sense, so the question here is - couldn't a minister and a state minister alone have done the trick?
Finance, Planning and the Public Service whiles staffed with two fairly competent men - Dr. Peter Phillips (seen by many as the de facto Deputy Prime Minister) and former Health Minister Horace Dalley, seems to lack the real technical competence that would be needed at a crucial time in our nation like this. Maybe this is where an extra minister without portfolio should have been wasted.
Now to Simpson-Miller's Office...with just Sports under Natalie Neita Headley's belt and Information with Falconer, I am at a genuine loss as to why the Prime Minister's Office would have to be staffed with a state minister, in the person of Luther Buchanan.. Certainly, Neita-Headley will have so much time on her hands when Sports is "out-of-season", that whatever Buchanan is being brought there to do, she and Falconer could more than straddle between the two of them.
That aside, many of those expected to take particular portfolios were so appointed and there were not any major surprises with probably the exception of the total absence of former general secretary and Simpson-Miller loyalist - Collin Campbell.
While we may have our differences on this new cabinet it is important that these members perform and stand firm by the mandate they have been given. The needs of this country are great and the people have placed a significant amount of trust in this administration. While it is evident that some of the members of this cabinet were rewarded because of loyalty and long service we expect that they will prove the naysayers wrong. I can only hope that they will perform above expectation, because in the end...PNP and JLP aside, the country will be the ultimate victor.
read this
ReplyDeleteInteresting read...
ReplyDeletenot a bad writer.. keep it up.
ReplyDeleteWhy am I not surprised?? Election done an' everybody pitch in di feedin' tree now. I ca only hope they have learned from their mistakes of the past and will do a better job this time around. I do believe the cabinet could have been smaller, however, there is a lot of work to be done. Perhaps the size may be reduced in years to come?? Or is that just a pipe-dream??
ReplyDeletevery good piece....you made some very valid suggestions and observations.Well done.....JKH
ReplyDelete