SIZE DOES NOT MATTER

[weary1969]

PM defends T&T's largest-ever Cabinet
By Ria Taitt Political Editor

Size doesn't matter.

Responding to concerns about the expansion of her Government as a result of last Friday's Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said yesterday: "It is all well and good to talk about numbers and size. But what is important is that the focus areas of concern to the population are being addressed by the reconfiguration and composition of the Cabinet."

She defended her decision to increase the number of Cabinet ministers in her Government (to 33), making it the largest Cabinet in this country's history (in addition to seven non-Cabinet ministers), and bigger than the Cabinets of countries such as China (which has 27 members) and the United States (23) with massive populations. She was speaking with reporters shortly after the swearing-in of new ministers at Knowsley building, Queen's Park West, Port of Spain.

Questioned on the cost to the taxpayers of this larger Cabinet, the Prime Minister said: "There are so many issues to deal with. I do believe the composition of the Cabinet as it stands is better poised for greater delivery, greater performance and implementation."

Four new ministries were created —Environment and Water Resources, National Diversity and Social Integration, Science and Technology and Communications and five ministers took the oath of office. The Prime Minister said she did not agree with the view that there was an unnecessary proliferation of portfolios.

"I don't agree that portfolios are created just to have warm bodies there...the new portfolio areas are areas that we need to give more focus to. The Ministry of Science and Technology, it was an area that we put in our manifesto, and spoke a lot about in the (election) campaign...so I wanted to give that greater focus than where it was, as an appendage to Tertiary Education portfolio. Environment and Water Resources, this is an area that we were very strong about in our manifesto and we felt it needed to have stand alone status."

The Prime Minister explained that the vision for this ministry was based on the Singapore model. "It is to put focus on water from the time the rain falls from the sky, hits the ground and runs off, down to the sea. Every drop of water would be tapped or trapped as the case may be. It (the Ministry) would deal not only with the flooding issues but the drainage division as well," she said.

She also sought to explain the rationale behind the establishment of the Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration.

Persad-Bissessar said this ministry would deal with issues such as patriotism, national heroes, protocols.

"The concept is that as we celebrate our diversity, there must be also unity...it would deal with concerns that arise in a diverse society in which we seek unity" as distinct from the Ministry of Multiculturalism, which picks up expression and artform of culture, she said.

On the establishment of the Ministry of Communications, she said communications has been the Government's weakest area and everyone who has spoken in the retreats state that Government did not seem to have an appropriate communications strategy.

On the concerns expressed about the appointment of Jack Warner as National Security Minister, who resigned from FIFA amidst allegations of corruption, the Prime Minister stated: "Allegations are allegations and will forever be allegations. Should they not have been allegations, somebody would have been in jail".

She said she wished Warner success in dealing with crime because his success was important to all the people of Trinidad and Tobago. She said she lives in hope that he can do the job.

Asked whether former National Security Minister retired Brig John Sandy was given a posting in Geneva, she said Sandy was offered a posting, the details of which were still to be worked out.

The Prime Minister said the target for newly appointed Finance and Economy Minister Larry Howai was to diversify the economy.

She said she took Economy from the Planning Ministry and attached it to the Ministry of Finance because she believed that Government needed to do more to kickstart the economy. She said former Finance Minister Winston Dookeran did well, stabilising the economy.

Mr Howai has a wealth of experience in banking. There is liquidity in the banking system. These are areas I am hoping we can tap into through the experience of Minister Howai, to get our economy kicked off for growth," Persad-Bissessar said.

She added that this was also why she created the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investments under Vasant Bharath, because it would be an important arena to bring more money and investments into the country.

She said some of the visits abroad would soon start to pay dividends in the form of more investments.

"Chandradath Singh, the High Commissioner to India would be here shortly with some of those investors coming out of India, there are others out of Panama and you need someone to take all of it and co-ordinate it," she said.

Did she ask Howai to join the party? "I did not ask him to join any of the parties," she said, apparently amused by the question.

She said she had not discussed with Labour Minister Errol McLeod whether he had plans to consider becoming an independent, after the party to which he belongs, The Movement for Social Justice, withdrew from the coalition, last Sunday.

Asked to comment on McLeod's statement that he had no political affiliation, the Prime Minister said: "I am not sure what those statements were. I do not recall those statements and he has not brought it to my attention."

[Andre]

more big salary to pay, more people to tief.

at least pnm had less tief in office yes.

[Bourbon]

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/_Biggest_hurdle_is_finding_staff_-160146465.html



The creation of four new ministries following the Prime Minister's Cabinet shake-up last Friday is sending ripples through the Public Service.

In Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar's announcement last Friday she unveiled the Ministry of Tertiary Education, a split from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education which will be headed by Fazal Karim.

There is now the Ministry of the Environment & Water Resources, taking the Environment aspect away from the Ministry of Housing and the Environment.

This will be headed by former WASA CEO Ganga Singh.

The Ministry of Communication will be led by Jamal Mohammed, and the Ministry of National Diversity & Social Integration will have former minister in the ministry of education Clifton de Coteau at the helm.

In a telephone interview, head of the Public Service Reynold Cooper told the Sunday Express that these new ministries can take as much as three months to get off the ground, as now several logistical hurdles present themselves, the biggest of which is finding staff.

Staffing falls under the Ministry of Public Administration.

"Each ministry has its standard staff, a Permanent Secretary and a Deputy Permanent secretary or secretaries. Then there's the head of accounts, a legal department, human resources, communications and information technology," Cooper explained. "Then once your ministry branches out there may be a need for specialists. The President, on the advice of the Prime Minister will give directions as to what forms the ministerial schedule. That schedule will determine how much staff a ministry requires and by extension how much space they will need."

Where a ministry is housed falls under the purview of the Property and Real Estate Division within the Ministry of Housing.

But a top official within the Ministry of Public Administration, speaking under condition of anonymity told the Sunday Express that these changes are actually "pain and tears for the average public officer".

The official said, "When these things happen, there is mass confusion, and ministries fight to acquire the best staff or to get rid of problem staff. The Service Commission then becomes involved, and they deal with the promotions of public servants to senior positions. The Ministry of Planning still hasn't gotten letters of promotion from last year's reshuffle."

Beyond staff, the little changes cause an issue as well. Signs need to be changed, cars need to be rebranded and thousands of dollars worth of stationery will be thrown out and thousands of dollars of stationery reprinted.

No one could give a figure on just how much it costs to create a new ministry, not even former prime minister Basdeo Panday, who said he could not even give a ballpark figure.

Cooper would only say, "If you go on vacation you may know how much you have and how much you want to spend, but things may come up and then you may end up spending much more."

[g]

Ministry of National Diversity and Douglarization sorry i meant Social Integration

[Bourbon]

<a href="http://www.facebook.com//v/10150879933666433" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.facebook.com//v/10150879933666433</a>

[Football supporter]

So, we have a Minister for Raindrops? Lucky we don't get hail or snow here! Or maybe there would be a Minister of State for Raindrops in the Ministry of Precipitation? 

[Dutty]

Fuss time ah ever hear ah woman say dat.

[Football supporter]

Fuss time ah ever hear ah woman say dat.

Really? I hear that all the time.