Minister of State, Joseph Harmon has given the assurance that Hamilton Green will not return as Chairman of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).

Government has made the decision that when the new Board of the CH&PA is constituted soon, Green will be replaced. Minister Harmon sought to give the assurance following government’s decision to remove Justice Cecil Kennard as Chairman of the Police Service Commission and Prem Persaud as Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) due to their age.

At a post cabinet media briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency today, Minister Harmon justified the decision, noting that the administration is creating “upward mobility” for younger persons who are competent to fill those positions.

“We have to, as a nation, strike a balance, where efficiency is concerned, where a person’s age is concerned. We do not believe age is a deterrent in and of itself, but we do believe that the fact that we have so many younger persons who are there, competent as well to carry out these duties, that we believe they ought to be given a chance,” Minister Harmon said.

Green, former Mayor of Georgetown, was appointed as the Chair of the CH&PA in October 2015. He has served as Mayor since 1996 and was Prime Minister under the PNC government before a split from that party in 1993.