2 hours ago
3
Senior Reporter
The Prime Minister’s decision to reassign responsibilities among ministers has drawn mixed reactions. Some view it as a routine administrative adjustment, while others see it as a signal of the Government’s political and policy priorities.
Former energy minister Kevin Ramnarine said the changes should not be seen as unusual or as a Cabinet reshuffle.
“That’s par for the course in the five-year cycle of a government,” Ramnarine said, noting that governments often realign responsibilities to better achieve their objectives.
“It’s not a Cabinet reshuffle; it’s just a reassignment of portfolios.”
Ramnarine dismissed suggestions that ministers whose responsibilities had changed were being sidelined or demoted, arguing that their substantive portfolios remained unchanged.
“The ministers continue to hold their substantive portfolios,” he said. “I don’t agree with those persons, and I don’t see it like that.”
He said governments regularly reassessed how responsibilities were distributed as priorities evolved. Asked whether the removal of some responsibilities could be viewed as a demotion, he said no.
“The ministers continue to hold their substantive portfolios. Sometimes, as I said, the government’s objectives and the scope of the objectives would change, and the understanding of how one achieves the objectives would change. You would have to have optimisation of resource allocation. That’s simply what it is.”
Ramnarine said he could not speculate on whether the Prime Minister had removed some responsibilities from Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal in anticipation of improved relations between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
Moonilal did not respond to calls or messages.
Former finance minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira said the reduction in some ministers’ responsibilities “did not come across as a positive thing”.
“Normally, when you hear a ministry has been allocated a specific portfolio, it can come across as though they have reduced their responsibility.”
Although she stopped short of describing the changes as demotions, Nunez-Tesheira acknowledged that the public could interpret them that way. At the same time, she said the realignment appeared intended to give greater priority to policy areas such as housing and agriculture.
“It seemed to me that the Prime Minister was trying to telegraph a message that these areas of responsibility were going to be given priority.”
Nunez-Tesheira also suggested that political considerations may have played a role, particularly amid public concern about lost employment opportunities through programmes such as the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP) and the Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP).
Minister Barry Padarath, who was assigned responsibility for the On-the-Job Training (OJT) Programme, welcomed the change.
“I accept the added responsibility with a great degree of alacrity towards helping our nation’s youth,” Padarath said. “It is a great opportunity to contribute towards the professional development of our young people.”
Padarath said periodic changes were necessary to improve the effectiveness of government programmes and state enterprises.
“It is not unusual for the PM to redirect energies and competencies from time to time in areas that may need additional support and assistance in driving government policy,” he said.
He added that the administration had inherited “a fragmented system” that required continuous evaluation and reform.
“The opportunity given to us is to make the OJT programme more effective in ensuring there is a proper balance of on-the-job training for those with academics and technical vocational skills,” he said.
The latest portfolio realignment is part of the Prime Minister’s wider effort to refine ministerial responsibilities and sharpen the Government’s focus on priority areas.
English (US) ·