by Linda Straker
- In April, Prime Minister said there was possibility of reshuffle
- Reshuffle to allow Prime Minister to cross-learn and cross-train in different government ministries
- Reshuffle approximately 18 months after Cabinet ministers took oath of office
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell has confirmed that there will be a Cabinet reshuffle in the new year. This announcement comes approximately 18 months after his Cabinet ministers took the oath of office after winning the June 2022 general election, and 8 months after he gave up the ministerial portfolio of Finance.
“You will know more when the time comes,” he said when asked to confirm the report which was first posted online. The Prime Minister, who is also the Minister for Information did not reveal how soon in the new year Governor General Dame Cecile La Grenade will be swearing in ministers to new ministerial portfolios.
In April 2023, Prime Minister Mitchell gave up the Ministry of Finance portfolio to Dennis Cornwall and he took up Cornwall’s ministerial portfolio of Infrastructure and Physical Development, Public Utilities, Civil Aviation & Transportation.
At the time of the announcement of the minor reshuffle, the Prime Minister said the move was aimed at allowing him to get the opportunity to cross-learn and cross-train in different government ministries because his only experience within the public service system is working for 2 years as a teacher in a secondary school over 2 decades ago.
Back in April, he said that in the future there be a review of government ministers’ performances and the possibility of a reshuffle. “As you are well aware we are new ministers sitting in government. We have never been a minister before and we think it is absolutely crucial from as early as possible to give our ministers including myself, the opportunity if the need arises to be able to be cross-trained and to cross-learn the various ministries that we function,” he said.