St Vincent and the Grenadines: After the historic win of the Unity Labour Party for the 5th consecutive term, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves for the first time since November has announced the cabinet reshuffle.
Prime Minister Gonsalves shared that from now on, Frederick Stephenson, former Minister of Public Service, has now been appointed as the Foreign Affairs Minister. Frederick Stephenson will be replacing Keisal Peters. While Peters was appointed in August 2022, a history was made as she was the first female to take over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Also, Minister Stephenson will now also lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, including the Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit.
Further, PM Gonsalves stated that Peters will now assume the role which is “heart and soul of the government.” Now she will be Minister of National Mobilisation and Social Development, PM declared.
Also, Senator Keisal Melissa Peters will take care of all the related sub-issues within that portfolio, as well as postal services,” Gonsalves said.
“So she has her work cut out, and we have decided to split those ministries to ensure focused attention and have put in place supporting administrative arrangements,” Gonsalves added.
“I was considering of splitting housing and national mobilisation ministries before the Hurricane Beryl hit the country,” PM Gonsalves said. This decision came due to the ongoing housing issues faced by the population after the volcanic eruptions caused in April 2021.
He stated that Dr. Orando Brewster will remain in the Ministry of Housing and Informal Human Settlements.” PM Gonsalves noted that Brewster will also take on the sports portfolio previously held by Stephenson.
It is to be noted that, Dr. Orando Brewster is continuing his first term as the Central Leeward parliamentarian.
Referring to the July 1 category 4 storm, Gonsalves said, “There are many social safety net issues to be addressed because people are suffering from this terrible disaster.” He further added that the Southern Grenadines is suffering from the Beryl as 95% of buildings have been damaged.
The Prime Minister also announced that he will now take over the Public Service portfolio previously held by Stephenson. The PM further added that the administrative staff has done a lot of work related to the public service.
PM Gonsalves ended his speech by saying that the cabinet reshuffle would be published in the official gazette.
