MINISTER within the Ministry of Communities, Dawn Hastings-Williams, will be officially appointed Minister of Public Affairs within the Ministry of the Presidency this month-end, President David Granger confirmed on Wednesday.

“It was a question of my own judgment and I have to continuously evaluate the workload of every ministry… It’s a continuous process to ensure that government works well and we need to ensure that we put our best effort where those efforts can have an impact on government,” the Head of State said at State House.

According to the President, Minister Hastings going to the Ministry of the Presidency is a continuation of a balancing process to strengthen the management of that ministry.
Minister Hastings-Williams will be responsible for oversight of the sections, which fall under the President’s secretariat, and will also hold responsibility for the administration of the National Endowment for Science and Technology (NEST) Programme and hinterland and rural relations.

Only recently,the President made some adjustments to his Cabinet, moving Dr Roopnaraine to the Ministry of Public Service and elevating Nicolette Henry as the senior Minister of Education. Back in January, the President had also made some additional changes, re-assigning Minister Volda Lawrence from the Ministry of Social Protection to head the Ministry of Public Health, while Minister Amna Ally was moved from the Ministry of Social Cohesion to the Ministry of Social Protection. Dr. George Norton was moved then from the Ministry of Public Health to the Ministry of Social Cohesion, which falls under the purview of the Ministry of the Presidency.

In 2016, the President had also initiated some changes to his Cabinet. Minister Catherine Hughes was appointed Minister of Public Telecommunications, while the Ministry of Governance and Protection of the National Patrimony were delinked and the latter renamed the Ministry of Natural Resources and assigned to Minister Raphael Trotman. The functions of the Ministry of Governance were then added to the portfolio of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo.

In addition, Minister Simona Broomes was also shifted from the Ministry of Social Protection to the Ministry of Natural Resources, while Minister Keith Scott was moved to the Ministry of Social Protection from the Ministry of Communities and was tasked with responsibility for labour. Minister Valerie Sharpe-Patterson was then given the nod for the post of Minister within the Ministry of Communities with responsibility for housing.