Cabinet sworn into office

By Linda Straker

THREE persons elected as Members for the House of Representatives in the February 19 General Elections were not named as Ministers of Government when the Keith Mitchell administration was sworn into office on Sunday in a mass public ceremony held at the National Stadium.

Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Keith Mitchell
taking the oath of office.

Clifton, Paul who unseated former Prime Minister Tillman Thomas; Tobias Clement, who unseated former Finance Minister Nazim Burke; and Yolande Bain-Horsford, who unseated Sylvester Quarless, will sit on Parliamentary sub-committees normally occupied by opposition members and will not be in the Cabinet. However, the three, according PM Mitchell, will receive additional allowances for their constituencies and be briefed weekly by a specially appointed Cabinet Committee.

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell receives is ministerial instrument
of appointment from Governor General, Sir Carlyle Glean.

The new government will have only 11 ministries, five less than the last administration. The Prime Minister described the task of selecting the Ministerial portfolios as painful. However, he was guided by the fact of an absence of a formal Opposition in the country, after the NNP swept the polls on February 19. Parliamentary sub-committees, such as the Public Accounts Committee require non-Cabinet parliamentarians to be included.

A cross-section of the crowd at the swearing-in of new ministers.

“The biggest challenge was who to leave out for the time being,” Dr. Mitchell told the hundreds of supporters and well-wishers who attended the ceremony, which was also witnessed by a number of regional leaders including Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and Foreign Affairs Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Winston Dookeran.

New Ministers shaking hands with supporters.

Dr. Mitchell indicated that there is the possibility of changes in the future, so that those who are left out will have the opportunity to serve in ministerial positions in the future. “The decision about who to leave out was very painful for me … it is quite possible that people who serve as backbenchers today can be full-fledged ministers in the not too distant future.”

Dignitaries at the swearing-in ceremony
of the new NNP administration.

In his address to supporters and the newly sworn-in ministers, Dr. Mitchell said his team understands that their priority is to secure jobs and help create an environment that will create more jobs. He assured the nation that within the first hundred days of his administration, the foundation of his plan for economic expansion will become clear.

The Grenadian leader announced that his government will pursue a robust foreign policy, expanding co-operation to South and Central America, Asia and Africa. He said all good investors are welcome and no one will be maligned by the government.

The complete list of ministers

• The Rt. Hon. Dr. Keith Mitchell: Prime Minister, Minister for Finance, Energy, National Security, Disaster Management, Home Affairs, Implementation, and Information.
• Hon. Elvin Nimrod: Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Legal Affairs, Labour, Local Government and Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs.
• Hon. Gregory Bowen: Ministry of Communications and Works, Physical Development, Public Utilities and ICT.
• Hon. Anthony Boatswain: Ministry of Education and Human Resource.
• Hon. Claris Modeste: Ministry of Health and Social Security (NIS).
• Hon. Roland Bhola: Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment.
• Hon. Nicholas Steele: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Business.
• Hon. Emmalin Pierre: Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Ecclesiastical Relations.
• Hon. Alexandra Otway-Noel: Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation, and Culture.
• Hon. Oliver Joseph: Ministry of Economic Development, Trade, Planning and Co-operatives.
• Hon. Delma Thomas: Ministry of Social Development, Housing, and Community Development.

Junior Ministers
• Hon. Alvin Dabreo: Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications and Works, Physical Development, Public Utilities and ICT, with special responsibility for ICT.
• Senator Kenny Lalsingh: Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Energy, National Security, National Disaster, Home Affairs, Implementation, and Information, with special responsibility for Implementation.

Parliamentary Secretaries
• Senator Winston Garraway: In the Ministry of Finance, Energy, National Security, National Disaster, Home Affairs, Implementation, and Information with responsibility for Information.
• Senator Sheldon Scott: In the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Ecclesiastical Relations.
• Senator Brenda Hood: In the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Civil Aviation with responsibility for Culture.