As sure as the sun rises, a Cabinet shuffle is coming!

Fri, Feb 3. 2012

Editor: The Searchlight Newspaper Front Page item in its January 31 edition did not materalise, but it is on track.

After all, Prime Ministers the world over refuse to be pre-empted in these matters. But as sure as the sun rises over Georgetown, a Cabinet reshuffle is in the making… and coming sooner rather than later.{{more}}

When Gomery Daniel made his foolish remarks at the Sandy Bay public meeting of the ULP and mishandled the pesticide file in his Ministry of Agriculture, this writer called for a Cabinet shuffle.

Recently, in another piece, I also noted that Minister Charles was not performing in the newly created Ministry of National Reconciliation.

From the PM’s response to a journalist at a Press Conference today (January 31), I am now more than ever convinced that a Cabinet shuffle is at the top of the Prime Minister’s immediate agenda.

Come on, Mr Prime Minister, stop delaying the inevitable. Do the right thing now. The sky will not fall in, and your eight to seven majority will remain fully in tact. Do it in the interest of good governance. Do it for SVG. Do it for your political and professional legacy.

Minister Gomery made three serious blunders in recent months. The Prime Minister, quite publicly, supported his nonsense on two occasions. On the last occasion, De Comrade said: “The Master spoke and his servant listened”. Let’s hope the “Master speaks” [very soon] about a Cabinet shuffle.

To date, the Prime Minister has apologised on at least four occasions for Daniel’s insensitive remarks made in Parliament two weeks ago. Dat good, Comrade.

Now Prime Minister Gonsalves must do that Cabinet shuffle to rightly transfer Gomery out of the Ministry of Agriculture – a department in which he has served our nation well for about four decades.

Minister Charles is not suited for the important Ministry of National Reconciliation. This department needs a pro-active Minister and department. Thus far, Minister Charles has disappointed many, including this writer who initially called for the creation of the Ministry and actually suggested Maxwell Charles or Girlyn Miguel for the job.

Also worrying to some of us – Vincentians at home and in the Diaspora – is the Prime Minister’s penchant for rewarding political operatives who should really be disciplined. At the risk of hearing accusations of being personal, let me opine that Hans King, Sehon Marshall, and to a lesser extent Minister Saboto Caesar, should have been disciplined for their recent actions. Instead, Marshall seems to be at the receiving end of political goodies from the Prime Minister on a daily basis. And King now seems more entrenched in his position as Press Secretary.

The Prime Minister ought to recall that he – and by extension the nation – faced serious contradiction from Marshall on the Star Radio Show, Morning Scoop – the morning after he (Prime Minister) delivered a Parliamentary Statement on Cocoa. And King publicly stated, on more than one occasion, that he “contemplated” committing murder for remarks made of him by an NDP operative.

In Caesar’s case, his serious breach of House rules by obstructing the Honourable Speaker when making a ruling seems to have gone un-noticed by Parliament and the public.

An immediate Cabinet shuffle would not only make the Prime Minister more responsive and responsible, it will send a strong message to political operatives who speak out of turn.

Jus do um, Comrade!!

Wade Kojo Williams, Sr.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada