Fellow Citizens, as I had previously announced, it has been my intention to undertake a critical review of the performance of my Government during its first year in office and to make such changes as are necessary in order to fulfill the mandate given to us by you, the citizens on May 24th 2010.
Performance reviews are routine in determining both individual and organizational performance. It is no different for my government and for Members of my Cabinet.
In fact, I have often remarked that my government is a performance driven one responsive to the needs of the public, and as such, during the first year
I emphasized both service to the people, action and delivery.
This government came into office amidst extremely high expectations on the part of our citizens for a type of governance and management that is sensitive to their needs and more significantly adopts plans and programs which solve their problems.
At the time of the formation of my Cabinet very few of my Ministers had the benefit of serving in Government and in Cabinet or had done so a long time ago.
Despite this, and the existence of the Ministerial “learning curve”, together with the need to build trust with the public service and to have the public service adapt to the culture of high performance expected of my government, the consensus by way of our achievements is that we have done well in our first year as a government.
We are aware however of the need to do better!
We know that our citizens expect more given the extent to which they have been denied the quality of life which an economy like Trinidad and Tobago should have provided during the years of plenty.
It is in response to fulfilling these expectations, that I have undertaken a review of portfolios and have made certain changes. These changes in which some Ministers will be reassigned to new responsibilities, is by no means a reflection of their competence.
It is rather a more effective alignment of competencies to positions where they will be more effective.
I value and applaud their efforts in the particular Ministries where they served and assure them of my continuing support as we work together for the benefit of our country.
At the same time, I expect that those who now hold these portfolios will be dedicated to excellence, high performance and delivery.
As Prime Minister and as the “CEO” of the Cabinet, I am committed to the values of efficiency or value for money, effectiveness (getting the job done well and on time) integrity, responsiveness, service excellence, a caring attitude, fairness and equal treatment in the conduct of the business of government.
I expect all members of my government will be so guided.
Realignment of portfolios is common after a year in government.
In this government, it was also obvious that certain Ministries had responsibilities which were not in keeping with their core business. of those Ministries.
This created duplication and an inefficient use of both human and material resources.
I have also sought to correct as far as possible these anomalies.
I believe that such changes will improve both governance and quality of service delivered.
In making changes, however, I am moved by the spirit of cooperation and understanding by the Members of my Cabinet, particularly those who were directly affected, a testimony to their commitment to team and to the higher vision of the government which is the satisfaction of the people.
I am also gratified by the high level of cooperation and understanding which I have received in this exercise from my fellow leaders in the People’s Partnership, and for which I thank them.
In light of what I have established as the focus of the government and to fulfil the mandate given to us, I wish to announce the following major changes to my Cabinet.
CHANGES TO BE MADE
(i) The creation of a new Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development and the Appointment of Ms. Verna St Rose Greaves as a Senator and Minister of this Ministry and also to the Appointment of the Honourable Ms. Ramona Ramdial, MP, as Minister in this Ministry
(ii) Secondly, the creation of a Ministry of Transport and the appointment of Mr. Devant Maharaj as a Senator and Minister of this Ministry
(a) The assignment of the Information Portfolio to a Ministry now to be known as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Communications with the appointment of Ms. Nicole Dyer-Griffith as a Senator and Parliamentary Secretary in this Ministry; Minister the Honourable Surujrattan Rambachan, MP, will be appointed as Minister of this Ministry
(b) The appointment of Dr. the Honourable Fuad Khan, as Minister of Health
(c) The appointment of the Honourable Ms.Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, as the Minister of Public Administration
(d) The appointment of Senator the Honourable Mr. Kevin Ramnarine as Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs
Performance reviews are routine in determining both individual and organizational performance. It is no different for my government and for Members of my Cabinet.
In fact, I have often remarked that my government is a performance driven one responsive to the needs of the public, and as such, during the first year
I emphasized both service to the people, action and delivery.
This government came into office amidst extremely high expectations on the part of our citizens for a type of governance and management that is sensitive to their needs and more significantly adopts plans and programs which solve their problems.
At the time of the formation of my Cabinet very few of my Ministers had the benefit of serving in Government and in Cabinet or had done so a long time ago.
Despite this, and the existence of the Ministerial “learning curve”, together with the need to build trust with the public service and to have the public service adapt to the culture of high performance expected of my government, the consensus by way of our achievements is that we have done well in our first year as a government.
We are aware however of the need to do better!
We know that our citizens expect more given the extent to which they have been denied the quality of life which an economy like Trinidad and Tobago should have provided during the years of plenty.
It is in response to fulfilling these expectations, that I have undertaken a review of portfolios and have made certain changes. These changes in which some Ministers will be reassigned to new responsibilities, is by no means a reflection of their competence.
It is rather a more effective alignment of competencies to positions where they will be more effective.
I value and applaud their efforts in the particular Ministries where they served and assure them of my continuing support as we work together for the benefit of our country.
At the same time, I expect that those who now hold these portfolios will be dedicated to excellence, high performance and delivery.
As Prime Minister and as the “CEO” of the Cabinet, I am committed to the values of efficiency or value for money, effectiveness (getting the job done well and on time) integrity, responsiveness, service excellence, a caring attitude, fairness and equal treatment in the conduct of the business of government.
I expect all members of my government will be so guided.
Realignment of portfolios is common after a year in government.
In this government, it was also obvious that certain Ministries had responsibilities which were not in keeping with their core business. of those Ministries.
This created duplication and an inefficient use of both human and material resources.
I have also sought to correct as far as possible these anomalies.
I believe that such changes will improve both governance and quality of service delivered.
In making changes, however, I am moved by the spirit of cooperation and understanding by the Members of my Cabinet, particularly those who were directly affected, a testimony to their commitment to team and to the higher vision of the government which is the satisfaction of the people.
I am also gratified by the high level of cooperation and understanding which I have received in this exercise from my fellow leaders in the People’s Partnership, and for which I thank them.
In light of what I have established as the focus of the government and to fulfil the mandate given to us, I wish to announce the following major changes to my Cabinet.
CHANGES TO BE MADE
(i) The creation of a new Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development and the Appointment of Ms. Verna St Rose Greaves as a Senator and Minister of this Ministry and also to the Appointment of the Honourable Ms. Ramona Ramdial, MP, as Minister in this Ministry
(ii) Secondly, the creation of a Ministry of Transport and the appointment of Mr. Devant Maharaj as a Senator and Minister of this Ministry
(a) The assignment of the Information Portfolio to a Ministry now to be known as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Communications with the appointment of Ms. Nicole Dyer-Griffith as a Senator and Parliamentary Secretary in this Ministry; Minister the Honourable Surujrattan Rambachan, MP, will be appointed as Minister of this Ministry
(b) The appointment of Dr. the Honourable Fuad Khan, as Minister of Health
(c) The appointment of the Honourable Ms.Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, as the Minister of Public Administration
(d) The appointment of Senator the Honourable Mr. Kevin Ramnarine as Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs
(e) The appointment of Senator the Honourable Mr. Embau Moheni as Minister in the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism
(f) The appointment of the Honourable Mr. Rudranath Indarsingh, as Minister in the Ministry of Local Government
(g) The appointment of the Honourable Ms. Nela Khan, as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government
(h) The appointment of Dr. the Honourable Delmon Baker, as Minister in the Ministry of Finance
(f) The appointment of the Honourable Mr. Rudranath Indarsingh, as Minister in the Ministry of Local Government
(g) The appointment of the Honourable Ms. Nela Khan, as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government
(h) The appointment of Dr. the Honourable Delmon Baker, as Minister in the Ministry of Finance
(i) The appointment of the Honourable Mr. Colin Partap, as Minister in the Ministry of National Security
(j) The appointment of Mr. Terrance Baynes as a Senator
(k) The nomination of the Honourable Mr. Jairam Seemungal, as Deputy Speaker of the House
(l) The assignment of responsibility as Leader of Senate Business to Senator the Honourable Mr. Emmanuel George
Please see PM's address part 2 below.
(j) The appointment of Mr. Terrance Baynes as a Senator
(k) The nomination of the Honourable Mr. Jairam Seemungal, as Deputy Speaker of the House
(l) The assignment of responsibility as Leader of Senate Business to Senator the Honourable Mr. Emmanuel George
Please see PM's address part 2 below.
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