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.... Local News

08th December 2011
NEW CABINET INSTALLED
M.G. George

A new Cabinet of Ministers was sworn in on Tuesday to look after Saint Lucia’s affairs however, a key post within that Cabinet is yet to be filled.
Meanwhile the results of the November 28 general election are still creating waves amongst the two main political parties with court petitions and counter petitions being considered by both parties.
And one of the winning candidates in the just concluded general election had to bite the bullet and opt out of a Ministerial position in order to fill a crucial position within parliament.
The Cabinet will comprise a total of 13 ministers and one Parliamentary Secretary overseeing approximately 44 portfolios. There are two new ministries namely that of Youth Development and Energy, Science and Technology.
The Cabinet comprised a mixed of experienced and inexperienced persons at that level of governance. Included in that mixed are four senators two of whom contested the November 28 general elections with the other two coming from the private sector, although they did worked as high level civil servants in the past.
The members of the new Cabinet are as follows: Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony who now heads the Ministries of Finance, Economic Affairs, Planning and Social Security; Phillip J. Pierre who heads the Ministries of Infrastructure, Port Services and Transport; Alva Baptiste who is in charge of External Affairs, Civil Aviation and International Trade; Dr. Robert Lewis is now the Minister of Education, Labour and Human Resource Development; Alvina Reynolds was given the Ministries of Health, Wellness, Human Services and Gender Relations; Moses ‘Musa” Jn Baptiste now heads the Ministries of Agriculture, Rural Development, Food Production and Fisheries.
Other members of the new Cabinet are Harold Dalson who now heads the Ministries for Social Transformation, Local Government and Community Empowerment; Emma Hippolyte who will be assisted by Ubaldus Raymond as Parliamentary Secretary, heads the Ministries of Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs; Victor La Corbiniere who now heads the Ministries of Legal Affairs, Home Affairs and National Security; Lorne Theophilus who is now in charge of the Ministries of Tourism, Heritage and the Creative Industries; Shawn Edwards the Minister responsible for the Ministries dealing in Youth Development (new) and Sports; Dr. James Fletcher, a former high ranking civil servant and employee of the Secretariat of the OECS, now responsible of the Ministries dealing with the Public Service, Sustainable Development, Energy, Science (new) and Information Technology and Stanley Felix who was given the Ministry for Physical Development, Housing Urban Development and Renewal.
Prime Minister Anthony, after naming his Cabinet warned that he expects nothing less than good governance from them. He planned to implement a Code of Conduct for ministers so as to cement his call for good governance.
There is still a vacancy in the Office of the Attorney General. Who will head that office is still unknown. According to Prime Minister Anthony the proper authority for the appointment of an attorney general is the Judicial and Legal Service Commission therefore it would be incorrect to make the announcement of the appointment of an attorney general without the concurrence of the authority that is responsible for appointing the individual.
 
 

“If I were to do that then I would be pre-empting the authority, so we first have to submit the name of the person for attorney general to the appropriate authority who will then make the appointment. At that point we will be at liberty to announce the name, so it’s a matter of respecting constitutional duties and responsibilities,” Dr. Anthony said.
With a Cabinet in place the prime minister now turns his attention to the legal challenge being considered by the opposition United Workers Party (UWP). The opposition has made it clear that it is considering filing a petition in a court of law for another recount of the ballots in the Gros Islet and Babonneau constituencies, which had close finishes in favour of the Labour Party.
Emma Hippolyte won the Gros Islet seat by seven votes after the official count. Alvina Reynolds won the Babonneau seat by two votes after the official count.
Explaining that it’s the right of the opposition to file a petition if they feel they have grounds for such an appeal, Prime Minister Anthony noted that his party will file counter petitions. He further added that his party is considering contesting in a court of law the results in two constituencies with a possible third constituency being looked at.
The Castries Central and Castries Southeast constituencies as the ones positively being looked at by the Saint Lucia Labour Party, with Dennery South as the possible third.
“In both of those constituencies the majority of the declared winners are far less than the number of votes which were disallowed. Castries Southeast in particular is of grave concern. There were 305 rejected ballots and that’s a very significant number,” Dr. Anthony said.
Meanwhile the exclusion of medical doctor Desmond Long from the Cabinet is generating heated discussion in the Anse-La-Raye/Canaries constituency.
Long better known as “The Mighty Pep” his calypsonian name had to stand down from a ministerial post to be the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, a position that must be held by an elected member of the House. It has become traditional that over the years the governing side of the House appoints one of its own elected members.
Prime Minister Anthony noted that having Long to stand down was a very difficult decision.
“When I looked at the configuration and looked at the political issues facing us at this time, very unfortunately I had to make a decision to ask him to stand down for the time being. Those decisions are never easy for a prime minister more so for a candidate, but we needed someone to make a sacrifice for the time being,” Dr. Anthony said.

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