Email

Print

And so today PM Barrow made a change that might be called dramatic; instead of promoting one of his star ministers like John Saldivar or Patrick Faber, he went to the senate, the leader of government business in the senate to find his new minister. That's Doug Singh and while he may not embody the kind of "get tough" approach that many in the public have been crying out for, Barrow says he is assured Doug's the right man for the job. But before he got to that, the PM said he wasn't sure if he should have had the press conference at all:...

"The entire cabinet less one, Elvin Penner - 18 of them filed in to the conference room at the NEMO building. The air was not tense; the PM breezily spoke with his colleagues; they had gotten the details of the shuffle earlier on at the regular cabinet meeting. At the opening he expressed some reservations about proceeding with matters of state.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"I had thought of not proceeding with today's business in view of what happened to my partner who is extremely close to me but the business of Government must go on."

And this is a busy week for the PM - two major press conferences one on the cabinet, the other on crime - but actually both about crime

PM Dean Barrow
"Ladies and gentlemen, the changes that we are advising the Governor General to make have as their most fundamental impetus the need for us to confront and defeat this challenge that we are facing, this crisis that we have encountered with respect to crime and violence. So I make the point that what we do today is driven principally by the need to reorganize the Government in such a way at first and foremost we can deal with the law and order situation."

And first off there will be a new minister of police and a new national security construct. The ministry as it is says Barrow is too large and unwieldy. Now it will be partially supplanted by a Police and Public Security ministry headed by Senator Doug Singh.

PM Dean Barrow
"The new minister is perfectly aware of the magnitude of the task that he faces. I am convinced that he has the wear it all both in terms of ability and in terms of dedication to give us the drive that we need to make this thing work. The Honorable Carlos Perdomo will be the new Minister of Defense. We have admitted that nothing that we've done has worked in the way that we would like it to work. We have admitted that things have not gotten better and so we have reached a point where yet again we are trying something new but this time more radical. And it is in that context that we should have a dedicated police minister who as I said doesn't have to answer to a constituency, he is not running for office, he need not concern himself with meetings in a particular area with his political committees, no. All he will do is concentrate on police and try to ensure that we move this thing forward."

And to move it forward the police ministry will need more support from youth and sports:

PM Dean Barrow
"The Minister of Education the Honorable Patrick Faber, who I think it is common ground, has done an outstanding job as Minister of Education will also be taking on the Minister of Youth. I think that kind of combination education and youth and all the very plentiful resources that the Ministry gives to him to work with will mean in terms of ameliorating some of the social conditions that needs to be addressed, in terms of making the interventions with particular households in particular neighborhoods and offering people a chance in terms of educational opportunities in terms of youth opportunities will be more than achievable in the context of that particular fit. In the same vein I have also decided to ask the Minister of Public Service to take on the Ministry of Sports."

And the last leg of that will be the attorney general where in a surprise move former house speaker BQ Pitts will act as what Barrow calls a legal backstop. He is not a celebrated legal practitioner at the upper courts, but a man with a wealth of experience at the lower courts.

PM Dean Barrow
"To root out rogue elements within the Belize Police Department all these things will require a kind of legal back stop that also necessitates in my view the appointment of an Attorney General who can concentrate on just that. Again in terms of what we are trying to do, having a dedicated Attorney General who can make the push for the legislative reforms for movement in terms of the court system, for doing all the work that needs to be done in order to accommodate and in fact encourage the changes that must be made in terms of the police department, this is somebody who can help us to get that done."

And while Pitts is not known as a promulgator of policy, his appointment should not ruffle the man whose job he takes, his law partner Wilfred Elrington:

PM Dean Barrow
"I can honestly say that we have a united Cabinet there has been complete understanding of what we are trying to achieve and I am grateful for that."

Later on, we'll hear from the new Minister of Youth to find out if he has any real change in store for this much-passed-around ministry. And while minister Elvin Penner loses youth and sports, he keeps information and broadcasting and assumes the portfolio of Minister of Public Utilities, BWSL and Postal Services, picking those up from the mildly downgraded Melvin Hulse, who showed poorly in the village council elections in Stann Creek West. Hulse remains Minister of NEMO and Transport. One more note, the CYDP will be enfolded into the Ministry Of Youth and former NEMO CEO, Cornel George Lovell will be the CEO of the new Police and Public Safety ministry.