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 Grenada National Stadium.
The three are 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. They will sit on Parliamentary sub-committees normally chaired by opposition members. Parliamentary sub-committees such as the Public Accounts Committee require non-Cabinet parliamentarians to be included. However, the three according PM Mitchell will receive the same compensation package as if serving as a minister of Government for their Constituencies and be briefed weekly about Cabinet decisions.
The Prime Minister described the task of selecting 11 ministerial portfolios as painful. “The biggest challenge were 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 witness by a number of regional leaders and policy making including Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit; Foreign Affairs Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Winston Dookeran and former Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines James Mitchell.
Dr Mitchell indicated that there is the possibility of changes in 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 back benchers today can be full-fledged ministers in the not too distant future”.
In his address to supporters and the newly sworn 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 cooperation to South and Central American, Asia and Africa. He said all good investors are welcome and no one will be maligned by the government.
The complete list of ministers are:
Dr. the Hon. Keith Mitchell: Prime Minister, Minister for Finance, Energy, National Security, Public Administration, Disaster Preparedness, Home Affairs, Implementation and Information. The Junior Minister for the Ministry will be Sen. Kenny Lalsingh and the Parliamentary Secretary will be Sen. Winston Garraway
Hon. Elvin Nimrod: Deputy Prime Minister, Attorney General, Minister for Legal Affairs, Labour, Local Government and Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs
Hon. Gregory Bowen: Communications and Works, Physical Development, Public Utilities and Information Communication Technology. His Junior Minister will be Alvin DaBreo
Hon. Anthony Boatswain: Education and Human Resource Development
Hon. Claris Modeste: Health and Social Security (NIS)
Hon. Roland Bhola: Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Hon. Nickolas Steele: Foreign Affairs and International Business
Hon. Emmalin Pierre: Youth, Sports and Ecclesiastical Relations. Her Parliamentary Secretary will be Senator Sheldon Scott
Hon. Alexandria Otway-Noel: Tourism, Civil Aviation and Culture. Her Parliamentary Secretary will be former Tourism Minister Brenda Hood
Hon. Oliver Joseph: Economic Development, Trade, Planning and Cooperatives
Hon. Delma Thomas: Social Development, Housing and Community Development
by Linda Straker
