CAL, Civil Aviation Authority under control of Finance Ministry

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar made it clear on Tuesday that two agencies that used to be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport will now be under the Ministry of Finance and the Economy.

They are the state-airline Caribbean Airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority. When she announced the cabinet shuffle last week she stated that CAL would be under the finance ministry headed by Senator Larry Howai. 

The Transport Ministry is now headed by former Local Government Minister Chandresh Sharma. The new LG minister is Dr Suruj Rambachan, former Minister of Communications and Foreign Affairs. 

“I think Caribbean Airlines is a very important asset of the people of T&T and I do believe the best fit at this point in time is under the Ministry of Finance,” Persad-Bissessar said.

“I am also intending to place the Civil Aviation Authority under the Ministry of Finance so both those arms which will be working together for the benefit of our country will be in one place.” 

She said no decision has been made about the CAL board. Persad-Bissessar said the government is looking at the composition of all state boards and will now pursue seriously the reconfiguration of the state boards. 

She has asked ministers who had boards under their portfolios to submit reports that would be used as the basis of determining if changes are needed.