A quartet of new ministers are set to receive their instruments of office on Wednesday in the Mia Mottley administration to “wrestle down” a series of challenges that are “within our capacity to fight”, as the Prime Minister told the party faithful over the weekend.But this latest round of ministerial musical chairs seems more of a homecoming as the First Among Equals moves to match professional and political experience with ministerial portfolios.Senior Minister Senator Jerome Walcott returns to the Ministry of Health, as the surgeon who became the nation’s chief diplomat expected to wield a deft scalpel in the nation’s largest and most notoriously difficult ministry.His predecessor, Ian Gooding-Edghill MP, a former executive with some of the island’s leading hotels, also moves to a presumed “home” as he leaves the MOH for the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport.Senator Lisa Cummins, a former diplomat and trade expert shifts from Tourism to the Ministry o
Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s decision to make changes to her Cabinet twice in the space of two years is not unusual, says political scientist Peter Wickham.Contending that it was in Mottley’s power to do so, he said the biggest move in the reshuffle was the appointment of first-time Parliamentarian Corey Lane to a ministerial position.During the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) 83rd Annual Conference over the weekend, Mottley announced Cabinet changes that would take effect on Wednesday.“Our Prime Minister is entitled to a reshuffle as frequently or as infrequently as she may so desire. Remember under the administration of David Thompson we did have changes that were being made, and certainly, within the short space of time he was alive as Prime Minister he made changes, I think twice, so this is not abnormal,” Wickham, a political scientist and Director of the Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES) told Barbados TODAY.
President of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Dr Ronnie Yearwood has described the recent Cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Mia Mottley as “a swapping of incompetent ministers”.He said what was especially telling was that Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Kay McConney remained unscathed despite numerous calls for her to be sacked following the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) survey fiasco.Speaking at the Barbados Labour Party’s 85th Annual Conference on Saturday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced changes to her Cabinet, effective Wednesday.She named Senior Minister of Social Sectors and Environment Dr The Honourable Jerome Walcott as Minister of Health and Wellness to replace Ian Gooding-Edghill who will head the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport.
For the second time in under six months, Government has put a cap on gas and diesel at the pump, bringing a much-needed ease from skyrocketing petroleum prices, at least for the next five months.Prime Minister Mia Mottley on Monday evening announced that from Friday until January 31, 2023, Barbadians would pay no more than $4.48 per litre for gas or $4.03 per litre for diesel, regardless of the price of oil on the international market.The welcomed news means the current gas price of $4.83 per litre, which ranks as the third highest in the world, would be lowered by 35 cents, while diesel which retails at $4.28 per litre would be reduced by 25 cents.During a press conference at Ilaro Court, Mottley conceded that the previous cap on Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel had not worked as well as intended, and admitted that more needed to be done to help protect Barbadians from rising fuel costs.“In March, when I addressed the country through the Budget speech I indicated then that we would loo
After all the ‘pomp and pageantry’ in Parliament last Friday the issues pertaining to the Auditor General’s Report have still not been addressed.That’s according to president of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Dr Ronnie Yearwood, who has again called on the Mia Mottley-led administration to come clean and account for some of the damning information revealed in the most recent report.During debate in Parliament last week several ministers including Senior Minister Kerrie Symmonds and Minister in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs Ryan Straughn, along with backbencher Marsha Caddle, staunchly defended Government and insisted that the Auditor General’s Report did not point to any wrongdoing.However, Dr Yearwood told Barbados TODAY that some serious allegations highlighted in the report needed to be explained.