Minister Henry Usher to take command of the Police Department amid a Cabinet reshuffle

Henry Charles Usher will be commanding the Ministry of Home Affairs come Monday, November 17.  The announcement came earlier today, following a Cabinet meeting.  It is one of several changes that the government has undertaken.  Just after four o’clock this evening, a prerecorded statement from Prime Minister John Briceno was sent out, listing the other portfolio changes and the basis of the adjustments.  

John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “I have decided, after careful reflection, to adjust various cabinet portfolio assignments. Francis Fonseca will return as Minister of Education in addition to his current responsibilities. Henry Charles Usher will take on the portfolio of Home Affairs along with the Ministry of Enterprise responsible for free zones. Kareem Musa will now be responsible for Immigration, Governance and Labour. Florencio Marin Jr. will serve as Minister of the Public Service and Disaster Risk Management. Oscar Requena assumes Rural Transformation, Local Government and Community Development. And finally New Growth Industries will be conjoined with Agriculture and Food Security. These adjustments will, as a whole, strengthen our executive team while bringing a fresh approach to several difficult spheres of governance. For example, despite the massive deployments of human and financial resources and the adoption of cutting-edge strategies, both education and citizen security remain areas of keen concern by the public. In both instances though cabinet and ministries are more resolved than ever to build on the successes of the past five years. We are undeterred by the transnational influences that render advancement sporadic or incremental.”

The reshuffling is major as some may say that it carries some serious undertones linking to the capacity and performance of some Cabinet ministers.  In the case of Kareem Musa, the opposition and some members of the public have been calling for his removal as the police minister.  Some have also questioned his ability to advance new industries for the country under his New Growth portfolio.  With this change, he now commands immigration, which was previously under the Office of the Prime Minister; as well as Governance which was held by Henry Usher and Labour which was under Florencio Marin Junior.  Minister Francis Fonseca has taken an overload of major portfolios as education, science and technology have been given back to him in addition to Foreign Trade, Foreign Affairs and Culture that he currently holds.  Interestingly, Minister Oscar Requena held the education portfolio for a mere eight months. Tonight, however, he prepares to retake his previous portfolio for Rural Transformation, Local Government and Community Development.  As for Jose Abelardo Mai, he has lost the Enterprise portfolio to Henry Usher which includes oversight of the free zones, but he has gained New Growth Industries from Musa.  Finally, Florencio Marin Junior has gone from being the commander of the country’s border security back in 2021 to the minister responsible for Public Service and Disaster Risk Management which includes NEMO.  As noted, these changes will take effect come Monday.