New Barbados Cabinet Sworn-in After January 2008 Election
The Barbados Governor General, Sir Clifford Husbands, has sworn in a new 18-member cabinet to run the affairs of the country for the next five years, following the January 15th, 2008 general elections that changed the government.
Headed by new Prime Minister David Thompson, 46, the cabinet comprises 14 elected candidates of his victorious Democratic Labour Party (DLP) and four non-elected specialists in areas ranging from agriculture to finance and labour relations.
Sixteen of the new cabinet members were sworn in January 20th, 2008 by Sir Clifford, during an open-air televised ceremony in front of thousands of people at Kensington Oval – the first time such an event was held in public.
Thompson, Barbados’ sixth Prime Minister, and new Attorney General Freundel Stuart, were sworn in last week at Government House, official residence of the Governor General.
The other 16 in the cabinet are:
» Christopher Sinckler – Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Business.
» Donville Inniss – Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and International Business.
» Dr. David Estwick – Minister of Health, National Insurance and Social Security.
» Ronald Jones – Minister of Education and Human Resource Development.
» Dr. Denis Lowe – Minister of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Urban Development.
» Patrick Todd – Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Urban Development.
» Richard Sealy – Minister of Tourism.
Haynesley Benn – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (to be appointed to the Senate).
» George Hutson – Minister of Trade, Industry and Commerce.
» Michael Lashley – Minister of Housing and Lands.
» Dr. Esther Byer-Sukoo – Minister of Family, Youth Affairs, Sports and the Environment.
» Steve Blackett – Minister of Community Development and Culture.
» John Boyce – Minister of Transport, Works and International Transport.
» Ms Maxine McClean — Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (she is to be made a Senator and be appointed as Leader of Government Business in that chamber).
» Darcy Boyce — Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office with special responsibility for Finance and Energy (to be appointed to the Senate).
» Arni Walters — Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office with special responsibility for Employment, Labour Relations and the Social Partnership (to be appointed to the Senate).
Prime Minister Thompson, whose DLP trounced Owen Arthur’s Barbados Labour Party (BLP) by 20 seats to 10 in the election, has indicated that his intention is to “draw on the best brains available in Barbados to overcome the challenges that we shall face in the near future”.
At the Kensington ceremony, he signalled that his first order of business was to start lowering the cost of living.
Noting the presence in the audience of Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerritt, Mr. Thompson said they would be meeting later on how to get cheaper Dominican fruit and vegetables for Barbados.
“Prime Minister Skerritt is here to begin talks as to how we can break up the monopolies that control our food supply and to make sure the fruits and vegetables that may be rotting in Dominica can end up fresh and cheap in Barbados, to lower the cost of essential foods for all……”, Thompson said.
Additional Information:
January 21st, 2008
