16 member Cabinet sworn-in in Belmopan
Sixteen ministers of government were sworn in this morning by the Governor General in a formal ceremony in Belmopan. Only four of them had held full ministries in the previous P.U.P. administration while two had served as ministers of state. That left ten rookies to form the majority on a team that is young by any yardstick. Patrick Jones was on hand at Belize House as the players took their oath.
With sometimes shaky hands and somewhat nervous smiles, the new Cabinet of Prime Minister Said Musa was sworn in this morning at Belize House in Belmopan. It is a Cabinet encompassing youth and experience, a blend that Musa says will be fully utilized in the best interest of the country, starting with the newly created portfolios for the Sugar Industry and Latin American Affairs. The P.M. defended this departure from tradition as one which takes advantage of the particular expertise of his former rival for the party’s leadership.
Said Musa, Prime Minister
“The sugar industry is one of the most vital industries to your country. We are faced with a situation right now where the Libertad Factory has been closed down once again. We have to do everything possible to get that factory opened again. There is a great deal of unemployment in the north and it will require a lot of skill, a lot of experience and we believe the Honorable Florencio Marin has that experience and skill to concentrate on that. He also has great expertise and knowledge in the field of Latin American Affairs, having worked with countries like Mexico and we intend to again lean on that experience and that expertise to take full advantage of a new thrust in our foreign affairs relations.”
While renewed focus on foreign affairs is one early thrust of the new administration, Prime Minister Musa reminded the press that political reform is also on the front burner.
Said Musa
“That is the agenda in fact for the first one hundred days of this government. We will be attacking that head on immediately because we feel that there are certain things that must be done in the area of political reform if we are to achieve the kind of economic restoration that we have to achieve. The two go hand in hand.
I don’t want to continue to give the bad news but clearly it’s much worst than we imagined. But that is not to say that we will not be giving the Belizean people a full report on the state of finances as we find them. We will not dwell on it because we were not elected to dwell on problems but to solve those problems, but we do need to state to the people the state of the finances of the country. And we’ll be doing that very shortly.”
With regards to the judiciary, Musa says he will be giving the new Attorney General the task of investigating the last minute elevation of Justice Manuel Sosa to the post of Chief Justice, to see if there was any breach of protocol.
Said Musa
“Let me say that whatever comment I make on this issue should not reflect on the integrity or indeed the professionalism of Mr. Justice Sosa. But we do believe that procedures must be carried out fully in accordance with the constitution and the law. And one of the things that I will be asking the new Attorney General to do is to look and to review the situation to see whether the law and the constitution was properly carried out. I must say that it is most unusual if not improper for a government going out of office in a matter of day or so to be making appointments to the third branch of government.”
Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney General
“That is a matter which will have to be done in consultation with, for example, the Bar Association. We’d certainly want to hear the views of the Bar Association. It is something that has to be looked at not just carefully, but doubly carefully, because it is a very, very serious matter. It was most unfortunate that the unseemly manner in which it was done by the outgoing government, the timing, everything is unfortunate because it has left a certain, for want of a better word, it has left a certain question mark hanging over the appointments.”
Both Bradley and Musa stressed that the investigation will not focus on the integrity or professionalism of either Justice Sosa or Meerabux, but on the way their appointments were done. After taking the oath of office, affixing their signatures to the relevant documents and a brief photo opportunity in the rose-less garden, the sixteen men and one woman retreated to their respective offices to take on the job of governing the nation. Patrick Jones for News Five.
One minister who will be giving up a high profile job is Attorney General and Minister of Housing Dickie Bradley. In a press release issued today KREM Radio announced that, due to his position as a member of the government, Bradley will no longer be hosting his popular Wednesday night talk show.
